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An Oldie, but a Goodie, No.1


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The latest whiz-bang, hybrid, million-dollar supercars may all be very well and good,  but other than the economic absurdity of such devices, in my view and that of many other older, true car enthusiasts nothing will ever equal the joy and involvement, or replace the ear-to-ear grin factor and driving pleasure a good, well-sorted classic GT / sportscar from the "golden era" of the '50s, '60s and early '70s can bring.

 

If there are no objections, I'd like this to be the first image in a series of some of these treasures, with the attached shot of a friends Alfa-Romeo GTV, a perfect example of the type of car I am talking about.

 

Naturally, anyone else's contributions of cars in the spirit of this thread are heartily welcome.

 

M9-P / 35 Summicron Asph., which, I submit is probably the best lens for this type of shooting.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

JZG

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Lovely.  I've always been a fan of Alfa GTs.  How about this one? A 1968 tipo 33 Stradale

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Or how about a 1955 550 Spyder?

 

 

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2 Classics (Oakhurst Ca)

 

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Thanks for posting and participating Stuart & Manoleica.

 

An Oldie, but a Goodie #2……..a '67 Ferrari GTS. The S of course stands for Spyder, a meaningless term some scribe used long ago to describe what used to be called Roadsters, i.,e. convertibles which were equipped with less structured top mechanisms which could be folded and stowed completely out-of-sight instead of forming the large 'cabriolet roll' over which the driver could hardly see when it was 'top-down' time - also a lot lighter.

 

One of Ferrari's best road cars ever, but unfortunately with only about a hundred ever produced over 3 years ('66 through '68) it has now become a multi-million $ collectible which is sadly no longer used as the very effective, enjoyable and pure 'gentlemen's Exprtess', the purpose for which it was designed.

 

JZG

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1058 California Roadster.  Looks beautiful, but according to Wilson, it's not a pleasure to drive.

 

 

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It's true that early Ferraris were somewhat primitive and not a whole lot of fun to drive ( I owned a '60 SWB 250 GT Coupe when it was just an inexpensive, worn-out used car because that's all I could afford back then, and must admit that it did feel a bit like a truck )……….although, truth be told, at about 75 or 80 mph it came to life and showed real signs of  good breeding. Remember, Enzo ruled with an iron hand anjd it was his way or you were gone. He was always years behind more innovative and succesful competitors in chassis design and was famous for being extremely conservative, only grudgingly allowing significant changes, and then only when his back was against the wall and he wasn't winning races.

 
Yes, that beautiful California handled less well than its price would have eager owners believe - after all - live rear axle, heavy wire whels, antiquated recirculating ball steering. less than ideal weight distribution, too large and heavy a car to begin with make for a handful……but, the 330 had IRS, disc brakes,  alloy wheels, much more favorable weight distribution, in short, it had  became modern, with commensurate improvements in handling and ride.
 
I've always p-referred more accessible, affordable and drivable cars that were nimble, light, engaging and most importantly "friendly",  more like the '73 Porsche RS pictured here as 'Oldie, but Goodie' #3. To this day that is probably a better driver's car than any million-dollar "super car",,,,,,Jeez, I hate that term, but that's what's become the popular nomenclature.
 
JZG

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Another pair

 

 

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Stuart, interesting you should post 2 American examples……….I was just about to do the same thing, except the example I chose is the Chevrolet Corvette.

 

The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe was a pure race car, and totally unsuited to street driving, and only six or so were ever built, and were intended for privateers to race internationally -  the original prototype was built in the Shelby shop in Venice, CA and is the only original example left, currently part of the Simeone Collection in Philadelphia, whereas the others were constructed by Carrozzeria Gransport in Italy. It really grated old Enzo to be beaten in the Sportscar World Championship in '65 by a Texas chicken farmer who had his American "hot rod" built in Modena, Italy right under Ferrari's nose.

 

My own involvement with US-made cars started out with a 315 hp Rochester fuel-injection equipped, white '58 Corvette for which I bought a used hardtop, and which I modified to make it look just like the Briggs Cunningham Corvettes he entered in the 24-hour Lemans races in the early sixties. It was absolutely amazing how easily & economically one could transform a standard Corvette into a perfectly good, enjoyable and competitive sportscar with which one could simply annihilate Porsches, Jaguars, Maseratis and most Ferraris………just needed better handling, brakes and a slightly 'breathed ' upon motor for more revs and power. The best part was of course the affordability of the Corvette. It was great fun while it lasted, because Corvettes ceased to be of interest to me after '68, when the hideously ugly and barge-like 'Stingray' iteration of the Corrvette appeared.

 

The attached photo is of one of the three '60 Cunningham "LeMans' Corvettes at the Laguna Seca Historics in 2013.

 

M9-P / 35mm Summicron Asph.

 

JZG

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