Cool and interesting cars that caught our eye either at shows or on the street.
Here is some fun stuff from the CF Charities Supercar Show last year. Naturally, when you hold a car meet on an open airstrip, some shenanigans are going to take place… in fact, the more, the better!
It was a motley crew of cars at the show, everything from everyday tuner cars to a mighty Bugatti Veyron and a straight-piped Porsche Carrera GT.
If you love hearing some engines being thrashed, and you love some tire smoke, then you’ll be glad you gave this video a watch!
-Nick Walker
While traipsing around Boca Raton, checking out Mizner Park, the high-end shopping district near the ocean, is always worth it. Whether you’re looking for a place to eat, a place to smoke a cigar and sip some whiskey, or just to chase down expensive cars (I was sort of doing all three), it’s got what you’re looking for. It definitely had what the owner of this eggshell-white G63 was looking for too. Enjoy the photos of this insane 4×4. Continue reading Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG spotted in Boca Raton, FL
Arguably the holy grail of classic Japanese cars, this Nissan Skyline 2000GT-R “Hakosuka” Race Car is so “O.G. JDM” that I can barely contain myself!
This was the first generation of Nissan Skyline GT-R, and a far cry from the modern R35 Nissan GTR. The “Hakosuka” Skyline 2000GT-R was extremely successful in racing, with over 50 victories in just 2 years. Then, in 1973, the Mazda RX-3 took the Skyline’s crown as top dog on the Japanese racing circuit.
“Hakosuka” Skylines are really gaining in value now, with a road version selling the same weekend at the RM Auction for $242,000. We saw a few other classic Skyline GT-Rs in Monterey this year, but this racing car in the pits of Laguna Seca really stood out for us. Along with the Toyota 2000GT, this is classic JDM royalty!
-Nick Walker
There’s nothing quite like American Muscle, the brawny style, the thunderous roar of a V8 engine, and the stiff competition between automakers. It’s a hell of a lot of fun!
This gallery showcases the highlights of the American cars that caught my eye in the pits at Laguna Seca during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Enjoy!
-Nick Walker
Chrysler, at one point, was all about really big cars. I’m not talking “big” in today’s terms. I’m talking “it takes up one whole city block” big. Chrysler didn’t do small cars until the late Seventies–and the proof was how they sold the 300. Continue reading 1967 Chrysler 300 Convertible at the 2014 Radnor Hunt Concours
I saw my first BMW i8 out in the wild the other day, but only for just long enough to be awestruck, and then it was gone. While I didn’t manage to get a photo of that silver one on the road, I do have the photos from the i8’s first viewing at Amelia Island last year.
I must admit that I have love for everything that the BMW i8 represents, and I don’t think BMW could have executed this plug-in hybrid sports car any better. I remember in Monterey this year, we saw one parked in front of a restaurant, right next to a green McLaren P1. Which car drew the crowd?… The i8.
In fact, the most memorable part of that night was when I spent 10 minutes trying to convince a group of people that the i8 wasn’t a concept car, but was, in fact, on sale. They kept saying BMW would never make a car that looked so radical and actually expect to sell them. I had to pull out my phone and show them the i8 on BMW’s website, complete with its $136,000 base price. At that point, they finally believed me, and were wowed.
The BMW i8 is in the same price range as the higher-end Porsche 911 Carrera models, but BMW has given it the head-turning exotic appeal of a Pagani or a McLaren P1. The i8 looks like nothing else on the road. It even has show-y gullwing doors so you can make a grandiose entrance, or so you can’t get back into your car if people park on either side of you. Yes, that wonderful supercar idiocy is present and accounted for in the i8.
Performance wise, the i8 isn’t really a supercar by modern standards, but it’s plenty fast to have a lot of fun with. 0-60 takes 3.8 seconds, the 1/4 mile goes in 12.4 sec, and it tops out at 155mph. The kicker is the fuel economy. Where a Porsche 911 Carrera S can manage a respectable 29mpg, Motor Trend saw an Average of 45mpg in the BMW i8.
Put in 2004 terms, the i8 has the performance of a Ferrari 360 with the fuel economy of a Toyota Prius. This is progress people.
Enjoy the pics!
-Nick Walker
While chasing after many, many exotic cars all over the Carmel Valley last summer, I bumped into this blue Ferrari 599 just behind me on the street. Before the Ferrari 599 GTO, there was the Ferrari 599 GTB. But between the two, there was this hot little number, the 599 HGTE. Ferrari took it upon themselves to make an option package for the 599 with upgraded magneto-rheological shocks, better tires, and some exterior dress-up, among other things. There were many other great cars out that Saturday afternoon in Carmel–but this one definitely got its fair share of attention from me that day.
When it takes someone 13 years to restore a car, it’s going to be something special. I am a huge fan of the second-generation Dodge Charger–and so is the rest of America. From the General Lee (of late Seventies fame) to the 1970 Charger hero car with the gargantuan supercharger poking out of the hood (thank you to The Fast and the Furious), this is a car that refuses to go out of style. The 1970 model was the final year of the Coke-bottle styling, and it has a few features that distinguish it from its earlier neighbors. Continue reading 1970 Dodge Charger R/T at the 2015 Boca Raton Concours
I could say that I have many “dream cars”, but none quite so much as the majestic Pagani Zonda F. This really is “the one” for me, above all other cars.
The Zonda is fast as hell, but there are many faster cars out there. It is extremely expensive too, worth a few million, but one with enough money could always spend even more. But when it comes to being special, when it comes down to the fine individual details that add up to make something that is truly magnificent, a Pagani has no match.
Continue reading Pagani Zonda F (Horacio’s Own) at The Quail
Duesenbergs and Pebble Beach go together like Los Angeles and celebrities. They are genuinely made for one another. Last summer at Pebble, there was a class of five Duesenbergs competing for class prizes. The one here, a 1934 SJ Limousine with coachwork by Rollston, was not an award winner by the book, but has a history for the books, like most Duesies. Continue reading 1934 Duesenberg SJ Rollston Limousine at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours
Out enjoying the beautiful weather in New Hope, PA, I stumbled upon this bright red Ferrari F430 Spider sitting in the playhouse parking lot. As you might expect, it was attracting a decent amount of attention. Lots of other tasty cars out cruising around yesterday as well. Enjoy!
-Nick
Lincoln hasn’t been making dramatic, sexy, or even remotely attention-grabbing cars for some years now. In fact, all of their products since the LS was taken out behind the barn have been rebadged Fords. 9 years of nothing but rebadged Fords and mediocrity. Finally, though, there is hope from the land of Town Cars, Mark Series, and Zephyrs. The new Continental concept is a genuine breath of fresh air from Lincoln–it’s not a reskinned Ford with a toupee. Continue reading The Lincoln Continental: Grandpa Irving’s Lincoln, No Longer.
Mind Over Motor 