Cars

Anyone with information regarding the theft should contact Arthur Bechtel Classic Motors on +49 7031 306 9522, or by email at [email protected]. Alternatively, you can make direct contact with the investigating police officers in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler: 49 2641 974258 / [email protected].

Barn-finds are so last week. RM has just announced a ‘condo-find’ Ferrari Daytona that remains in original condition and, until its sale at Amelia Island in March, will have had only a single owner since he bought it new in 1971.

Never-ending repeat play

As niche strategies were adopted by various car-makers to increase sales in the 1960s – from cheap to expensive, from sporty to luxurious – BMW’s ‘New Class’ found itself pitched against Alfa Romeo’s high-priced, sporting machines. The reference to Italian automotive engineering and design was even reflected in the development of the brand’s core values – not only because Munich is closer to Italy than Wolfsburg or Stuttgart, but also because it was one of the main target markets at the time.

How do you create a designer car that will enjoy cult status from the start? The answer is, you can’t. At least, Alec Issigonis had something entirely different in mind when designing a small, practical vehicle in the mid-1950s. Issigonis, who didn’t particularly admire big houses and big cars had young families very much in mind when the Mini – then the Morris Mini-Minor – first saw the light of day in 1959.

A rather conspicuous bright orange wedge

The Porsche 911 2.4 T was never restored and consequently has a marvellous patina. It’s now for sale in the Classic Driver Market from Portuguese dealers Cool & Vintage. 

Hence the little Sunbeam Tiger never sold on the scale of the much larger Ford Mustang, which – and this is the reason for the comparison – was powered by the same 4.7-litre Ford V8. Inspired by the success of the Shelby Cobra, Ian Garrad, sales manager of the Rootes Group for the West Coast of the USA, sent an Series II Alpine to Carroll Shelby and another to Ken Miles, a former Shelby employee and racer. Both fitted a V8 under the bonnet of the relatively tiny two-seater that was less than four metres long, and just over one and a half metres wide. The prototypes were sent to England, whe

Thanks to an agreement with Willys-Overland, the Alpine A108 was manufactured from 1962 to 1966 in Brazil – and renamed the Willys Interlagos. In total, over 800 Berlinetas were created (yes, written with only one ‘t’), along with coupés and convertibles. Race drivers such as the Fittipaldi brothers, Luis Pereira Bruno, Bird Clemente, Wilsinho and other champions of the Brazilian golden age achieved several podium finishes with the car.