Comète concoction
Designed by Stabilimenti Farina, built by Facel, and incorporating Ford technology, the Ford Comète was the brainchild of the American manufacturer’s French subsidiary in the early 1950s — hence why it doesn’t look like the usual Detroit barges from the same period. While around 3,000 were built between 1951 and 1954, just a handful of drop-top examples were produced. Consequently, the owner of this Comète elected to carry out a conversion on a coupé — and the result is spectacular.
Angry, affordable
Would you believe us if we told you that for the same price as a new BMW M6, you could buy a modern Lamborghini with a V12 engine, a proper manual gearbox, and styling more akin to a spaceship than a supercar? Well, if you can stomach the no-doubt eye-watering maintenance bills, this menacing black-on-black 2004 Lamborghini Murciélago currently for sale in Belgium is proof. Are you brave enough?
Marvellous Rosso Monza!
Every so often we spot a car in the Classic Driver Market that we really couldn’t have specified any better ourselves — a machine that is a true credit to its original owner. This Ferrari 599 GTO is one such example. It’s a known fact that Ferrari V12s look best in darker, more understated shades, but we hadn’t expected this hue — titled Rosso Monza — to work quite so well. Chuck in a chocolate-coloured leather and Alcantara interior, a smattering of carbon fibre, and a contrasting matte black roof, mirrors, and wheels, and you’ve got the best looking modern Gran Turismo Omologato we’ve ever clapped eyes on.
‘Simplify, then add lightness’
Embodying Colin Chapman’s ‘simplify, then add lightness’ mantra, the Lotus 15 was intended to pick up where the mightily successful Eleven left off. The third of 15 built, chassis number 603 was initially campaigned by the Works and driven by, among others, Graham Hill. It also boasts the distinction of being the very first Lotus 15 to win a race, at the 1958 Daily Express Trophy Meeting at Silverstone. Later in its life, the little Lotus was fitted with a 3.5-litre Buick V8 — that must’ve been a handful, to say the least!
You know who I am?
Mildly resembling the Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo Junior Z, the Matra Bagheera was a genuinely innovative sports car, featuring three-abreast seating, a steel spaceframe, and a mid-mounted engine. It was also genuinely named after the panther in the Jungle Book! This Simca-built example from 1977 is the rarer ‘S’ model, and if the advert is to be believed, it’s as fun to drive as a go-kart.
Photos: Cargold Beuerberg Collection / Bavaria Motors NV / DK Engineering / William I'Anson / António Carvalheira Collectible Cars
