The 1968-1972 Mercedes-Benz 300SEL 6.3 holds a unique place in automotive history. Many consider it the first super sedan, a luxury machine with musclecar acceleration and impeccable road manners, all in a stealthy package that looked nearly identical to the six-cylinder version.
Since 1994, all 100,000 square feet of the Petersen Automotive Museum have occupied the well-travelled corner of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles’ famous “Miracle Mile.” The brainchild of the late Robert E. Petersen, the museum focuses on sharing his passion for the automobile and exploring its impact on American culture.
Lauded by critics when new, the 1971-1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 seems somewhat misunderstood in the collector world. Was it a 2+2? A softer Daytona sibling? It was neither. The GTC/4 was its own car, and, according to those who drive them, a wonderful driving machine.
Call it a case of good karma. Henrik Fisker is back in the car business, but this time there’s not an electric motor in sight. Fisker unveiled the 218-mph Force 1 sports car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January and announced it would go into limited production this year at the VLF Automotive facility in Auburn Hills, Mich.
Maserati would issue its mid-engine supercar, the 1971 Bora, four years after the Miura went into production. Production continued until 1978. Amazingly, four decades later, you can lease any of those Italian masterpieces through Premier Financial Services with the ease and transparency of its Simple Lease.
Introduced in 1907, the Silver Ghost was Rolls-Royce’s first large-scale production automobile. Mechanically advanced, well-built, and well-marketed, it remained in production largely unchanged for almost twenty years. With over 8,000 chassis produced, this noble 6-cylinder put the budding luxury marque on the map and cemented their reputation for quality.
When was the last time an auto-show introduction knocked your socks off? Chances are, you already saw the car on the Internet days before. Journalists and patrons at the Geneva Motor Show in 1966 had no such spoilers to dampen the thrill of seeing the Lamborghini P400 for the first time. Five decades later, the Lamborghini P400 Miura is appreciated as both a landmark sports car and design.
It should be celebrated as one of the greatest GT coupes of all time. It could be held up as the blueprint for a modern GT coupe. Instead, it is sometimes brushed off, even by some marque loyalists, as the product of brand misdirection. It is the 1978-1995 Porsche 928
With a reputation for being a badge-engineered Rolls-Royce, one might wonder how the name Bentley has managed to stick around for almost a century. The Speed Six is the answer. Introduced in 1928, it continued the marque’s domination of the 24 hours of Le Mans and further defined Bentleys as innovative and enduring.
