Your 2019 Mille Miglia entry?
Yet another stroke of genius from the great American importer Max Hoffman, the Porsche 356 Continental was essentially a fully-loaded pre-A model equipped with the larger 1,500cc engine. It was produced for little over a year, making it one of the rarer 356s out there. Like most of the other Continentals, this particular example was delivered via Manhattan Motors in 1955 and is finished in its original colour combination. What’s more, it’s eligible for the Mille Miglia retrospective, and certainly one of the more comfortable cars in which to tackle the arduous Italian road rally.
David Bailey’s blue beauty
In the early 1970s, the legendary British fashion photographer David Bailey bought this Ferrari 275 GTB/4 and was regularly seen smoking around London with his then-wife, the French actress Catherine Denevue. More recently, the car was comprehensively restored and finished in the elegant colour combination of Blu Scozia over Ochre hide. According to the advert, the car ‘wants for nothing’, except perhaps a Leica-wielding driver and a beautiful woman in the passenger seat.
A luscious Longchamp
Just 14 drop-top De Tomaso Longchamp Spyders were built in the 1970s, of which two were fitted with less intrusive bumpers, lending the car an almost Mercedes SL aesthetic. This Marrone Matallizzato example is one of those two cars. It was fully restored in the late-1990s and has resided in the same ownership since then. While outwardly, this ultra-sports car more than hold its own against its contemporaries, we particularly love the sumptuous interior, which is swathed in beige leather and brown velour. How 1970s can you get?
The other 1960s Apollo
An interesting footnote in the history of cross-continental automotive collaboration, the Apollo 3500 GT is a car whose story needs to be told. It was the brainchild of Milt Brown, an American visionary who wanted to build a car to rival the likes of Ferrari and Maserati. He went about building it properly, too, designing a chassis and body from scratch in the States, before employing Intermeccanica in Turin to build them. Franco Scaglione even had a hand in refining the design. The beautiful Grand Tourer was then assembled in California and fitted with a Buick V8. Inevitably, the costs proved too great and only around 88 Apollos were built in various guises. This early 3500 GT was delivered to California in 1963 and looks to be in fantastic condition.
A convertible for life
The BMW Z1 is the perfect convertible for autumn and winter. When, mercifully, summer shows its final hand and you’re presented with a beautiful warm and golden day in October or November, you could drop the doors and explore the virtues of the high-revving straight-six entirely exposed to the elements. But when the weather does finally close in and the temperatures drop, you can remain cocooned in the interior with the doors high up and the heater blasting. A convertible is for life, remember, not just for the summer.
Photos: Porsche Centre Gelderland, DK Engineering, Movendi, Hyman Ltd., Bavaria Motors NV
