The old car market is steeped in jargon, and I don't mean of the technical kind. I mean the sort of pompous mumbo jumbo that is so often used to make a car sound a bit more upmarket, or to make a generally undesirable model seem rare.

Alfa Romeo SZ: Il Mostro

And while the fastest part of the 3-speed automatic transmission might be the sound of its name (‘Turbo-Hydramatic’), today, the big GTs offer the traditional, Captain of Industry Ferrari experience for the price of a regional manager’s executive saloon.

The car started life as the 1972 365 GT/4 2+2, a manual, 4,390cc replacement for the smaller 365 GTC/4. The classic Pininfarina styling echoed that of the Fiat 130 Coupé, yet the Maranello version was more aggressive and sinuous – as is entirely appropriate.

Although television screens in the 80s were frequently filled with more exotic cars (and hair-dos, come to think of it), the 911 proved extremely popular with the young up-and-comers. If you had a 911, you’d made it. The 3.2 Carrera’s new 231bhp engine meant that, at the time, it was claimed to be the fastest convertible in the world.

It wasn’t just the ability to design a pretty car which ensured the survival of Pininfarina when the automotive world underwent one of its most pivotal transitions, with the ‘golden era’ of coachbuilding in the 50s and 60s making way for the adoption of the monocoque chassis in subsequent decades. As well as embracing car production in its own right, the Cambiano-based consultancy also instigated pioneering research into new materials and construction processes.

First things first: technically, the Sergio is not a car as such – yet. Despite sitting on what’s essentially a mock-up of a Ferrari 458 chassis, the Sergio is currently a striking piece of rolling artwork, constructed largely from resin over a computer-milled buck. You might have glimpsed the Ferrari V8 engine through the rear deck, but that’s merely a cover: the Sergio does not actually run. The steering works, however, as it's needed for moving the concept around during events.

At the time, the convertible version of Crewe’s Continental two-door coupé was one of the most expensive cars in the world. In the United Kingdom it carried a price tag of £215,000 – a premium of some £40,000 over the coupé.

Pininfarina took two years to carefully design the complicated fold-back mechanism which made the fabric roof totally disappear when down. And not only that, it was also contracted to provide complete bodyshells from underpans and sub-assembly components supplied by Park Sheet Metal in Coventry. All final assembly was done at Crewe.

Ferrari 308 GT4: The first V8

The new car was unveiled via a parade through the streets of New York – apparently the model’s best-selling city. Land Rover states that more Sports are sold in the United States than in any other country.

It is extremely rare for any of the Silver Arrows Grand Prix cars to come up for sale – and the 2½-litre eight-cylinder single-seater W196 racing car with chassis number 00006/54 is one of the most important of its kind. This is the actual car in which Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1954 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and the Swiss Grand Prix in Bern.