Friday, July 25, 2008

Classic Cars Collection - Most Wanted

1956 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing

In 1952, Mercedes-Benz astonished the racing world over the successes it achieved with its 300SL, exploiting an advanced space-type frame and aerodynamic body with gullwing doors. The racing 300SL inspired the creation of the production version, which first took flight in 1954. This 1956 300 SL, which is presently for sale at the Auto Collections, was completely restored in 1999 and is beautiful inside and out.

1953 Cadillac Ghia

The Ghia was Cadillac's contribution the exploding influence of post-war Italian designers, such as Ghia and Pininfarina. Ghia's boss, Luigi Segre, teamed with American automakers to create several concept and one-off vehicles, including the Cadillac Ghia and the Chrysler Ghia Special. Only two Ghia prototypes were made for Cadillac, one of which was owned by actress, Rita Hayworth, a gift from then-husband Saudi Prince Aly Khan. The Cadillac Ghia was built on a Cadillac chassis for the 1953 Paris Auto Salon and was featured on the cover of the January, 1955 issue of Road and Track magazine.

1939 Maybach SW38 Spohn 4 Door Cabriolet

This is a beautifully restored example of one of Germany's great automobiles. This car is considered the best of approximately seven known to exist. It has had a few owners and was a very sound complete car before a full restoration was performed. The resulting efforts of the restoration enabled it to receive a class award at Pebble Beach Concours. This Maybach, unfortunately, is not for sale. The company's name comes from Wilhelm Maybach, one of Germany's first automotive engineers. He designed the first car that bore a Mercedes badge in 1901 and later collaborated with Graf Zeppelin to design and produce engines for the airships known as Zeppelins. Today, Maybach creates luxury cars that are as exclusive as they are expensive - each are custom-built to their customer's taste.

1939 Bugatti Type 57C Galibier Saloon

This beautifully restored Type 57C is a third series car and is number 19 of 27 cars built between October 1938 through July 1939. Of the 27 cars built during that period, only 11 cars were supercharged. Bugatti offered clients the choice of four factory design styles; the Galibier Four Door Saloon, the two-door Ventoux Coupe, the Stelvio Cabriolet and the Atalante Coupe.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500

From the late 1920s, the six cylinder or 6C cars formed the main-stay of Alfa Romeo's limited production line-up. Much of the technology used in these road cars were a product of Alfa's dominating racing cars of the day. Introduced in 1939, the 6C 2500 (2443cc) was available in many different configurations. This Sport Touring Berlinetta was a Gwenn Graham award winner at Pebble Beach in 1998 and won Most Elegant Closed Car at Ironstone, California and Kirkland, Washington, in 2004.

1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe

Seeing this 1925 Rolls-Royce Round Door Phantom I Aerodynamic Coupe was by far the highlght of our tour at the Petersen Museum. It's size alone is overpowering. It's hard to believe that this "work of art" was consigned to a junk yard in 1950. It is not known who rescued the car from being scrapped, but East Coast entrepreneur Max Obie eventually acquired the unusual Rolls-Royce and refurbished it. Obie displayed the Round Door Rolls and charged curious enthusiasts to look at it.

1931 Chrysler Imperial Sedan

After three years and 8000 hours of restoration, this car emerged to win numerous awards including First in Class at Pebble Beach and Amelia Island. This car has made a clean sweep of the Antique Automobile Club of America by winning Junior, Senior, Grand National, Grand National Senior and the AACA President's award. It has also won Classic Car Club of America's Primary Senior and Premier awards, scoring 100 points in each divisional judging. With a subtle and correct two-tone gray finish complemented by grey leather upholstery, this car possesses a presence and beauty few classics can match. The detailing on on the restoration is amazing and thorough, right down to the correct etching of the original suppliers name on the windshield glass. Wire wheels, dual side mounts, correct truck and chrome accents all add to the aura of this true classic.

1956 XKSS Jaguar

The XKSS was a road-going version of Jaguar's D-Type racing car. Just one of 16 built, it was originally white with a red interior, but after McQeen purchased the car he had it painted green, polished the Dunlap wheels, and had the interior read trend in black. It is reported that McQueen did much of the maintenance work himself and collected so many speeding tickets that he came close to having his driver's license suspended twice during his first year of ownership.

1939 Packard Super Eight Phaeton

Parkard was one of the most highly regarded American cars of the prewar era. This magnificent Packard was used by Argentine strongman Juan Peron, and is believed to be the last vehicle in which his wife Evita rode. This magnificent vehicle has a large eight cylinder engine that produced 130 horesepower and weighs over 5000 pounds. It was originally painted a dark color and was right-hand drive, but during its restoration in 1970, it was painted yellow and the steering position was change.

1947 Cisitalia 202 Coupe by Pinin Farina

Cisitalia was one of several small Italian firms that were established after World War II to build specialty sports cars with inexpensive Fiat components. The firms first model was the Type 202, a Pinin Farina designed grand touring fastback with a modified 1100cc Fiat engine. Considered revolutionary, a Pinin Farina- bodied Cisitalia 202 was featured in the 1951 New York Museum of modern Art show entitled '8 Automobiles"; an exhibit that studied excellent in automotive body design.

1937 Lincoln Model K Convertible Sedan

This car has a fifteen year old, but very professional, nut-and-bolt restoration with great attention to detail. The car scored 100 points upon completion, made two appearances at CCCA Grand Classics, and was subsequently used for touring. As a result, the car has proven itself a comfortable and reliable touring car, very capable of modern highway speeds. Despite minor cosmetic evidence of aging, the car remains very presentable and in excellent overall condition, from the eye-catching finish and wide whitewall tires to the engine compartment and Lincoln V12. It sold for a reasonable $137,500.

1938 Bentley 41/4 liter MX Vanden Plus Open Tourer

If there was any flaw to this handsome Bentley Tourer, we couldn't find it. Strikingly finished in pewter over green with green interior, it was in excellent condition. Often a participant in historic rallies and classic car runs, it came with a copy of the original Bentley build sheet, FIVA Identity Card, service history, photographs of the car prior to restoration, some invoices, including one for an engine rebuild in August 2005. We felt that it was a good buy at $210,000.

1968 Aston Martin DB6 Volante

The DB6 marked Aston Martin's first real departure in the body shape that first appeared in the DB4 in 1958. Although the DB5 that followed was a truly beautiful car with impressive performance, Aston Martin felt that a wider market required increased front and rear leg room - always a criticism of the DB4/DB5.

This particular DB6 has been completely restored by the highly respected Aston Martin specialist Richard Stewart Williams in 2002, and has covered fewer than 1,500 miles. The reserve on the Volante was not met and it went unsold.

p/s: Many this car collection are owned by museum and nobleman.. I like also to have some classic cars collection than modern cars.. It's cool actually! =)