Classic Cars

The Chevrolet Impala was rejuvenated again for 1961, officially the year when the third generation rolled into production. Chevy’s flagship full-size model was now entirely modern and, more importantly, an SS version became available.

The Impala debuted in 1958 as the top trim level for the Bel Air known as the Bel Air Impala. 1958 was the year of GM’s 50th anniversary, and the Bel Air Impala was the anniversary Chevrolet model. It featured different styling compared to lesser Bel Airs and people bought into it. So much so that, only one year later, the Impala became a model of its own - which is now considered the second generation Impala.

The 1961 Impala was still based on the B-body platform and sat on an X-frame chassis without side rails that were said to improve rigidity and lower the center of gravity. It had already been in use for two years on the previous Impala iteration. The new car came as a Hardtop 2-door Coupe, a Convertible, a 2-door Sedan, a 4-door Sedan, and a 4-door Station Wagon.

The Jaguar XK 150 was the final evolution of the original XK launched in 1949 and, as such, it was the most refined and the most powerful of them all. The S version came with a 3.8-liter engine from the Mark IX that developed 265-horsepower, impressive for the year 1960.

Just like its predecessor, the XK 140, the XK 150 was larger than the original XK 120, but it received some aesthetic improvements to make it look more modern. It originally came with the 3.4-liter DOHC inline-6 XK engine which developed 182 horsepower thanks to the updated cylinder head. The first XK 150s were sold in FHC (fixed-head coupe) specification with the drophead coupes arriving in 1958.

The XK 150 was kept in production until the end of 1960 when the final XK 150s were built for the 1961 model year. The following March, the E-Type was announced, and we all know how that went. But the appearance of the E-Type does not diminish the importance of the XK 120, and its XK 140 and XK 150 brethren, and the fact that now there’s an increasing market for these lush sports tourers.

The 1972 Dodge Challenger is the epitome of the tired muscle car. Not yet bloated and altered beyond any recognition like the 1974 Mustang, but showing clear signs that the muscle car phenomenon was dead thanks to stringent emission and safety regulations that turned all of America’s muscle to mild fat.

The Challenger, which debuted in 1970, has somewhat always lived in the shadow of the bigger Charger but, there, it had a life of its own. It raced to some success in the then-sprawling SCCA-governed Trans-Am Series, and that spawned a highly popular homologation special: the Challenger T/A. Then, things changed and new regulations swept away all of the big engines, so the 1972 Challenger was only available with a choice of three small block engines.

To make it even more evident that the status quo had changed, Dodge decided to give the Challenger a makeover. Basically, the body itself remained unchanged, but the car sported different front and rear sections which made it, arguably, uglier than the original iteration. With that being said, it’s unarguably still a work of art compared to the generic Japanese car Dodge decided to rebrand as a ’Challenger’ in 1977...

The Mercedes-Benz 190 SL was the more laid-back version of the legendary 300 SL and, like its much more exclusive big brother, was a huge hit in the U.S., practically establishing the SL model in Mercedes’ range for decades to come.

The 190 SL, like the 300 SL, was born out of a suggestion from U.S. executive and luxury foreign car importer Max Hoffman who thought that a less expensive but still exciting and luxurious version of the 300 SL would appeal to the U.S. clientele. He’d previously come up with the idea of the road-going 300 SL as well, reckoning that America’s rich and famous would love to blitz down the country’s infinite highways aboard a more friendly version of Mercedes-Benz’s 1952 Le Mans winner, the W194 300 SL designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut.

Due to Hoffman’s significant success as the Mercedes importer, the Stuttgart-based company decided to follow suit on his bold ideas and debuted prototypes of the two SLs at the 1954 New York International Motor Sports Show in February of that year.

Unlike the 300 SL, for which a purpose-built tubular spaceframe chassis was created, the 190 SL exhibited a tweaked version of the Mercedes-Benz 180’s underpinnings. As such, it received the W121 nomenclature with the sedan known as the W120.

Keep reading to learn more about the 1958 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL

The Jaguar XK120 was a turning point in Jaguar’s history and a sign of things to come. It was the fastest car in the whole world at the time of its launch in 1948 and remains one of the most beautiful British cars ever made.

First showcased at the 1948 London Auto Show held at the Earls Court, the XK120 was cheerfully received by an enthusiastic crowd who fell in love with the curvaceous and streamlined bodywork which covered the new XK inline-6 engine which promised never-before-seen performance on the road.

The first 242 XK120s were built with an alloy body until demand became so great that Jaguar switched to a different plant and began mass production in mid-1950. The XK120 spawned the XK140 and XK150 models which were successful evolutions of the concept and lasted in production all the way to the dawn of the ‘60s.

The Bentley S3 Saloon, along with the Rolls-Royce Phantom V, represented the standard of luxury in Europe. The S3 marked the end of an era as it was the last production luxury sedan from Bentley with body-on-frame construction.

The Bentley S3 was the last model of British manufacturer’s S Series which was in production for a decade. The S3 replaced the S2 in 1962 and, in turn, was replaced by 1965 with the T-Series Bentley that was also a close relative to the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The S Series came as a replacement for the antiquated R Type which had been in production since shortly after the war but was largely based on pre-war designs.

The S3 is, thus, the last of the truly classic Bentleys, so it’s only fitting that the car is one of the most elegant ever to come out with the Flying B on the hood. Performance is not that relevant on such a car but what matters, the comfort of the ride, is there aplenty. You won’t feel a bump in the road aboard the S3 even if you want to.

Now, let’s all take a short break from being eco-conscious and just enjoy the sight of this ludicrous 1937 Chevrolet pick-up truck which is one of the fastest diesel-powered trucks in the world. And yes, it has 3,000 pound-feet of torque.

If you drive a Honda Civic or a Chevrolet Volt you’re surely not going to enjoy the huge puffs of black, coal-like, smoke coming from this old school pick up known as ’The Outcast.’ Built by Tony Rizzi, this thing has upwards of 2,300-horsepower, and it revs all the way to 7,500 rpm. A diesel that revs to 7,500 rpm. Let that sink in.

We see a lot of restomods where people or companies thump new engines into classic cars. But how about putting an electric powertrain into a vintage car? This is not a new concept; in fact, there are quite a few companies who have been working on this for quite some time now. The conversion companies were in a large number even in the last century, and a perfect testament for this would be the formation of the Electric Auto Association back in 1967. However, this takes a lot of skill, money, and precise execution. One such classic car fanatic company, which has done many conversions in the past, is ICON; and this time, the company has turned a 1949 Mercury Coupe into an EV.

Following a number of teasers in the run-up to the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas, the speed gurus from Mopar, FCA’s in-house performance group, pulled the sheets on a brand-new, utterly custom Dodge Charger concept car, and with it, a new crate engine that puts last year’s “Hellcrate” package to shame.

The Maserati Bora, a classic Giugiaro design, is the first mid-engine sports car to come from Maserati and the bigger brother of the more well-known Merak, which massively outsold and outlived the Bora. Less than 600 were made, all with V-8 engines.

The birth of the Lamborghini Miura took the world by storm. It produced shock waves that rocked all the big names in the world of sports car manufacturing. Basically, after the Miura, everyone had to have a mid-engine supercar in its lineup. Alejandro De Tomaso came up with the Mangusta which followed the latest trends in design which dictated that the body should have a lot of straight surfaces and razor-sharp edges which would, in turn, reduce drag and make the whole thing look incredible. You can thank Marcello Gandini for this trend, the Italian designer behind the Miura who quickly moved on to a more futuristic design language with the Alfa-Romeo Carabo which was exhibited at the Paris Motor Show 50 years ago.

Maserati, who were still employing their elegant Ghibli, a quintessential grand tourer through and through, decided they should have a mid-engine car too. Ghibli’s designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, of Italdesign, was phoned up and, by mid-1969, the Bora prototype was in its testing phase. The finished product was gorgeous to look at, and an advertised top speed of over 170 mph was astonishing at the time. It was also a car that you could drive for extended periods of time thanks to the comfortable cabin and many amenities that weren’t too common in supercars.

There’s certainly no shortage of compact crossovers out there, but now it’s looking like the game might see a pretty big change in the future. That’s because Lynk & Co is gearing up to offer the 02 stateside, bringing a mix of new ownership models, new styling, and affordable technology to the already saturated compact crossover market.

The 02 made its debut in the spring of 2018, with a full reveal in Holland on March 26th, and it’s already available in China. Up next, the 02 will head to Europe, with a U.S. debut planned for sometime around 2021. The 02 is essentially a smaller, sportier version of the Lynk & Co 01, and like its bigger sibling, the 02 comes with a raft of features bearing both European and Chinese influences. The question is - how will it fit in on these shores?

There is no shortage of car models in the auto industry these days. Some models have gained followings while others have become flashes in the pan. Then there are the titans of the business, the models that have lasted the test of time and have been around, literally, for generations. In the course of their respective lifetimes, these models have evolved in more ways than one, none more evident than their designs. These seven models have been around for so long their designs have evolved considerably from when they first came out. Knowing their place in the business, these models are unlikely to go away anytime soon.

Aston Martin has long been associated with James Bond. The relevance of cars in movies more or less started with the Aston Martin cars featuring in James Bond movies. To commemorate this iconic relationship, Aston Martin has teamed up with the producers of James Bond, EON Productions and Sky, to celebrate “Global James Bond Day” today, the October 5th.

The Ferrari 340 America was the first model in the America series conceived with export in mind, used as a means to increase Ferrari’s footprint in the United States. The 340 featured a brand-new Lampredi V-12 which made its way to Formula 1, with this particular car racing at Le Mans twice in the early ’50s.

The Ferrari America series was launched at the dawn of the ’50s to appeal to American customers who wanted less rugged interior premises, bigger engines, and more performance. The first car of this lineage was the 340 America, which debuted at the 1950 Paris Motor Show in full racing trim. Granted, most Ferraris back then were as much race cars as they were road cars, but a customer could personalize his car to be more friendly on the road with softer suspension, different gearbox ratios, or new engine settings.

As this is a Ferrari from the early days of the company, it was made in very few numbers, on order from importers or customers. Barely 23 cars were completed between 1950 and 1952, with three coachbuilders taking care of the body. Carrozzeria Touring built six Barchetta and two Berlinetta bodies, Vignale crafted five Spyder bodies, five Berlinetta bodies, and one larger Convertible, while Ghia built only four fixed-head Coupes.

The car seen here is chassis #0116/A, the third 340 America built, and one of the 6 Barchettas by Touring. It ran briefly in period, its highlights being a couple of entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Owner Pierre-Louis Dreyfus shared the car in 1951 with well-known Grand Prix driver Louis Chiron and, in 1952, Rene Dreyfus. While the car didn’t reach the finish line on either occasion, it went on to sell for $8,430,000 during the 2016 RM Sotheby’s auction in Monaco.

Read on to understand why the 340 America commands such high prices.