There aren't a lot of new cars at this year's Chicago auto show. Sure, we've got the Acadia and the production ILX, but beyond that, everything here is something you've seen before. Or, in the case of this 1993 Ford SVT Cobra R, WAY before. 1992 before.
Ford debuted the SVT Mustang at Chicago in '92 and brought this museum-quality, 4,100-mile beauty back to coincide with the anniversary. It's one of 107 Cobra Rs produced. The Cobra R differentiated itself from the regular Cobra by a factory rear-seat delete, radio delete, sound-dampening material delete, adjustable Koni shocks, external oil cooler, an aluminum radiator and these neat 17-by-8-inch three-spoke wheels. It was powered by the same 5.0-liter V8 making 235 horsepower -- that was a big number in '93.
The only thing Ford could have done to make this a more special reveal would have been to bring out the F-150 Lightning, which also debuted at Chicago in '92.
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Categories: Chicago Auto Show,Classic Cars,Coupes,Ford,Sports Cars
Apparently it’s hell being a Formula 1 driver.
What with all that racing around the world, debriefing with engineers, dealing with stupid questions from journalists, glad-handing sponsors, helicoptering to parties where fancy women rub up against you for no reason at all, and kissing babies at supermarket openings, there’s no time for a man to drive his own damn car.
As evidence, we present this Porsche 911 that McLaren F1 driver and former F1 world champion Jenson Button has put up for sale. Want to buy it?
This isn’t just any Porsche 911, either. This is a 1973 Porsche 911 2.7 Carrera RS — the Ferrari 250 GTO of collectible Porsches, the 911 that every driver with the soul of an F1 driver wants to own. The Holy Grail.
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Categories: Celebrities,Classic Cars,Porsche
The support the launch of the new 991 911, Porsche has launched a new "911 Identity" advertising campaign. This started with a video explaining how Porsche engineers 911-ness into each new generation (we're now on 7) of the world's most famous sports car with the engine in the wrong place. They've now followed that up with a new exhibit at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart.
The display features historic racing cars like the 911 Carrera RS 2.7 "Safari" and Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. The display also features cutaways and steering wheels and rims from '63 to present and company documents (DOCUMENTS!) that have never been shown publicly.
For those of us who can't afford the eight euro fee on top of the flight to Germany, hi-res images of the display are available after the jump.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Porsche,Sports Cars
Finally, a bit of good news out of Saab; the Saab Museum in Trollhattan is no longer for sale.
The administrator of Saab's bankruptcy had put the museum and its collection of some 120 cars -- including the first Saab ever, the Ur-Saab -- up for sale. The thought process was that the cars would be worth more and thus return more money to Saab's creditors if the collection was broken up.
The City of Trollhattan, SAAB AB and the Wallenberg Foundation weren't ready to let that happen. The trio has reportedly paid 2.6 million GBP to secure the collection.
(AutoCar)
Categories: Classic Cars,Miscellaneous,Saab
This is officially the best for sale video I've ever seen
The owner of this Cobra is tearing down the front straight of Willow Springs at about 130 mph (it's a very fast track) when, suddenly, something goes wrong. Instead of stopping when he felt the "what was that" moment he pressed on. Then, seconds later, catastrophe. The Cobra hooks right, goes off track and then starts to roll. For about 500 feet.
And then, a couple of minutes later, the driver grabs the GoPro off the hood and grins at it.
Now the $14,000 drivetrain is for sale: 426 stroked Windsor with a Tremec 5-speed and race gears that may have spent some time upside down. Video after the jump.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Videos
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75 years after launching the iconic Morgan 4/4, Morgan is celebrating the nearly ceaseless production of its first four-wheeled car with this 4/4 75th edition.
The special edition is available in three flat colors (Sport Black, Sport Red, Old English White) and features a matte black stripe with "4/4 75th" designation. It's also got painted black 15-inch wheels, black stone guard, round door mirrors and polished door handles. Interior upgrades include perforated black leather, a tawny ash polished dashboard, wood rimed Moto Lita steering wheel and black carpets.
When the 4/4 was first introduced it had a 1,122cc engine, this one has a 1,999 cc motor cranking out 145 horsepower. It propels the 4/4 to 60 in 7.2 seconds and a top speed of 118. It weighs in at 2,028 lbs.
It will be priced from 38,750 GBP in the U.K. There will be no U.S. availability.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Convertibles,Morgan
The ORIGINAL General Lee, Lee 1, is going up for Auction next month at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale. A replica recently sold for $450,000, could this one crack a million?
Read more here.
Categories: Celebrities,Classic Cars,Dodge,Miscellaneous
Kim Jong-Il may have died last week, but his funeral took place in 1976.
After a lifetime of decadence and luxury at the expense of his people, North Korea's Dear Leader was carted to his final resting place in a mid-70's Lincoln. I can think of worse ways to be carried away.
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Categories: Celebrities,Classic Cars,Lincoln,Videos
Ford is touting its newest addition to the Ford Restoration catalog as the "ultimate stocking stuffer this Christmas." A $15,995, steel-bodied stocking stuffer.
The Ford Restoration Body Shell is stronger than the original and has better fit and finish. The "new" body is also set up to hold Ford's big block motors from that era. Ford claims that 90% of the parts needed to restore the car are available as Ford licensed reproduction parts. Guys who love the idea of a matching numbers car certainly won't dig this, but anyone who just wants an old Mustang for driving should be better served going reproduction. Besides that, you know this one's never been wrecked and you know it's straight and rust free. It's the starting point I'd take and Niebuhr never, ever would.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Convertibles,Ford
Many great artists have shaped Ferrari's history, and Sergio Scaglietti was one of the greatest.
He started Carrozzeria Scaglietti, an Italian design firm and coachbuilder, and crafted the bodywork for the 250 Testa Rossa, 250 GTO, the California (the original) and the 750 Monza. He died yesterday in Modena, Italy, at age 91.
The modern-day 612 Scaglietti (2005-'10) was named in his honor, though it lacks the stunning beauty of Scaglietti's own work. Perhaps a more fitting tribute is forthcoming.
Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo released this statement yesterday: "Today is a sad day for Ferrari. We lost a friend, a travel companion, a man who had his name forever connected to the Prancing Horse. Sergio Scaglietti leaves behind the legacy of an artist who with his talent created some of the most beautiful cars of our history. Who had the luck to know him like I did will also remember him as a straightforward and honest man, completely dedicated to his work. We will miss him."
IL Feature: Flat Out in the Ferrari 250 GTO
IL Feature: The Ferrari 250 GTO Makeover
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Categories: Classic Cars,Ferrari
Following the L.A. Auto Show yesterday, Singer Vehicle Design held a little soiree to introduce its newest creation -- the latest revamped 911.
Sound familiar? This one's different.
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Categories: Car Tech,Classic Cars,Coupes,LA Auto Show,Luxury Cars,Porsche,Sports Cars,Tuners and Modifications
Commercials. We love to hate them, hate to love them, but they're all tangled up in the American story. Take "My Dad's Car." It's the most heartwarming ad spot to date in the "Chevy Runs Deep" campaign, and it's a rewriting of a centuries-old fable: Dad buys '65 Chevy Impala SS and drives/loves it for 20 years. Family faces tough times so Dad sells beloved Impala. More than 20 years pass, and Dad's sons find that very same Impala SS, buy it and surprise Dad with it.
Unless your heart is a chunk of ice, you can't help but shiver over that one. And yesterday at the 2011 L.A. Auto Show, Chevrolet invited Herb Younger, his sons and his Impala SS to be part of the press conference.
Their cameo didn't have much to do with the Spark or the Camaro ZL convertible, but the aroma of unburned hydrocarbons primed the crowd for the latter. We're only disappointed Younger wasn't allowed to do a burnout.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Classic Cars,LA Auto Show
Our resident historian, know-it-all and Porsche historian/know-it-all Michael Jordan has already walked you through the People Behind the Porsches from Rennsport Reunion IV, and now Porsche wants to take a stab at it.
This latest video out of the Rennsport Reunion has a mix of vintage and modern clips celebrating the people and machines that are responsible for Porsche's 28,000 race wins. Watch the video after the jump and then go re-read Jordan's story.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Porsche,Sports Cars,Videos
GM's 100th birthday is finally upon us and to celebrate, the new centenarian is celebrating the way any decent old folk would, by looking back on the past. This is the latest video by GM that takes advantage of the brand's vast archives to compile a moving tribute to a brand that helped build America.
We can only hope every automaker's anniversary celebration follows suit.
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Categories: Auto Industry,Chevrolet,Classic Cars
We wish this video was 10 minutes instead of 2 minutes and had a soundtrack with less jazz and more engine sounds (although you can at least hear the old Porsches now and then), but this is still a nice little movie from Porsche about the recent Rennsport IV Reunion at Laguna Seca.
And by the way if haven't looked at Kurt Niebuhr's fastastic photo gallery from the weekend of vintage Porsche racing, do yourself a favor and tour it now.
Inside Line: Rennsport Reunion IV Picture Gallery
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Categories: Classic Cars,Motorsports,Porsche
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On November 24, 1988 a 1976 Porsche 930 Turbo was reported stolen in Las Vegas. On October 25, 2011, the car was recovered by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Outbound Enforcement Team (OET) at the Long Beach Seaport.
The old Porsche was recovered in a shipping crate bound for the Netherlands. CBP's specialists estimated the car's worth at $27,552 without the engine though it was listed on the crate's manifest as a $12,552 car. During the last 12 months, CBP/OET has seized 51 vehicles and 49 engines, 24 stolen, 63 undeclared, seven undervalued and six with fraudulent docs.
It's seen some abuse during those 23 years and without an engine the stance is just a little off. The car will be returned to the insurance company that currently holds the title.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Porsche
We've got a locked storeroom here at Edmunds with media kits going back decades that is a wealth of information and an endless source of entertainment. It's one thing to go back there when you need to dig out specs on something like our new long term 1991 Acura NSX, but it's quite a different experience to just walk back there and look around to kill some time. Vintage car ads / brochures just have a different feel than they do today. There was time and money invested not just to sell a car, but to sell the lifestyle that that car supported. The older you get, the more detailed they get. People tolerated reading a lot more back then.
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Categories: Chevrolet,Classic Cars,Ford,General Motors
This past weekend, a few of our guys were out at the Porsche Rennsport Reuon. You may have seen the gallery on Inside Line. As I was talking to our man Kurt Niebuhr, he mentioned that he had some few thousand images to sort through for the gallery. So I forced asked him to send me his favorites in hi-res.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Motorsports,Porsche
Yesterday was the 43rd anniversary of the theatrical release of everyone's favorite car chase movie, Bullitt. That's as thin a reason as we need to post this cool behind-the-scenes video of what it actually took to make some of the scenes in the classic flick.
"Big problems, of course, in doing a chase as dangerous as this on the streets is that nothing comes off like wheels, axles, shock absorbers. Because the things we did on the streets with automobiles I don't think will be done for a long, long time," narrates Steve McQueen at one point. The comments just get better from there.
Car chase stuff starts around 6:15. Steve McQueen looking more badass drinking milk than you or I would cagefighting at 3:50. Jacqueline Bisset looking stunning right around 5:00...oh just watch the whole thing.
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Categories: Celebrities,Classic Cars
Freedom be damned, what we need in 2012 is a president with the guts to assemble a team of inspectors to check out every garage, barn, outbuilding and shed in the United States and put an end to this barn find thing once and for all.
This one, a one-of-29 300SL alloy bodies, has been missing for decades. Mercedes 300SL restorer and historian Rudi Koniczek, of Rudi & Company, had 28 of the vehicles tracked down and had previously restored numbers 1 and 6, it was pesky number 21 that nobody could find. A rumor started 20 years ago that #21 was in a garage in Santa Monica. In late September, that rumor was proved true.
The owner, Tom Wellmer, got the car in 1955 as a graduation present from his parents in New York. It drove it to Cali and then continued driving it until the 70 when the transmission died and he lost the will for the project.
"This is the ultimate garage find and may be one of the greatest finds ever in the collector car world,. It's amazing to know that the car had been there all those years without anyone knowing about it." said Koniczek.
That this was mere blocks from our office is driving me mad. Not quite mad enough to become a picker, but enough that I'm probably going to get pulled over for driving very slowly through residential neighborhoods this weekend peeping in garage windows.
*Edit: Looks like Hemmings has a story on this from earlier in Sept. Cool stuff.
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Categories: Classic Cars,Mercedes-Benz
