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Bruce Meyer shares his car collection in Petersen exhibit

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Robert E. Petersen changed the car world in 1948 when he first published Hot Rod Magazine, an original idea that led to a vast publishing and real estate empire in Hollywood.  

Petersen supported the National Hot Rod Association and drag racing in general, the aftermarket industry through SEMA from its very beginnings as the Speed Equipment Manufacturers Association, and moved freely in and out of Hollywood’s power circles as a fine-art gallery owner and restaurateur.  

In the 1970s, Pete Petersen put a bunch of movie cars in an old building at the end of Hollywood Boulevard and called it The Cars Are The Stars.

That led to opening the first Petersen Museum in a former department store in the Wilshire district.  And that, years after Petersen’s death, led to the fabulous $100 million museum that now occupies the southeast corner of Wilshire and Fairfax.

The Petersen has become famous as much for what is inside the building as it has for its completely original exterior wrap in ribbons of red and silver, because what’s inside keeps changing all the time.  

The original idea from the 1970s, movie cars, has been expanded into a huge collection, but there is plenty of room in its 300,000 square feet of display space to feature half a dozen special collections at once.

Beverly Hills retailer, car nut, Bonneville racer, vintage sports car racer and drag racer Bruce Meyer, who has supported the Petersen in every possible way since the new museum was started, is currently showing almost a dozen of his cars in the Bruce Meyer Family Gallery, and they are a very special bunch of machines.  

Meyer likes to find cars that made history, cars that won big races and big championships and otherwise moved the needle by being the first or the best.  He has displayed his cars at every significant concours d’elegance in the world over the years, and, to see this many of them in one place, was a rare treat.

The rest of the fluid collection is, as always, spiced and dotted with all kinds of interesting machines that have two wheels, four wheels, and no wheels at all.

SEMA Seen: 1969 Wide-body Mercedes 280SEL

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At the SEMA Show, it’s rare to have a car stop you in your tracks after three days of automotive overload.  Slowly becoming numb to all of the custom builds and elaborate displays, I was delightfully surprised to find this 1969 wide-body Mercede-Benz 280SEL in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.  The craftsmanship was astonishing and the overall concept impressive.

1969 Wide-body Mercedes 280SEL
Wide-body kit made of hand-fabbed steel

The car was built for Josh Stahl, owner of Reviva, a company specializing in remanufacturing diesel engines and components for fleet vehicles as well as similar engines featured in his wide-body Mercedes.

The wide-body Mercedes is powered by a Reviva 6.7-liter LS engine with 607 horsepower that comes with a two-year, 24,000-mile warranty.  An LS performance engine with a warranty even if for a short time wasn’t something I thought I’d ever see.

1969 Wide-body Mercedes 280SEL
6.7-liter Reviva LS engine

Stahl commissioned Vescio’s Customs for the build that he eventually wants to use for AutoCross competiton.

The fairly large engine is fitted very cleanly into an engine bay finished in a beautiful muted silver.  Quite interesting to see a performance engine displayed in such a stylish way.  However, the giant grille attached to the hood almost hid the beautiful engine work.

1969 Wide-body Mercedes 280SELI would have guessed it was a custom addition but turns out it’s a factory grille.  It’s unfortunate that the grille on this wide-body Mercedes hid the beautiful engine bay a bit, but it was the first thing that grabbed my attention.

Along with the custom wide-body kit that I was pleasantly surprised to find out were hand-fabbed steel by Vescio’s Customs.  Something you don’t see often.  Majority, if not all, wide-body kits that were overwhelmingly displayed were made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic.

1969 Wide-body Mercedes 280SELCherry-wood Momo wheel topped the tilt steering column and the original dash was customized with AutoMeter gauges and Vintage Air.

The interior had a performance feel with the five-point harnesses but still retained the luxury that Mercedes is known for in the diamond-stitch pattern in the tan leather bucket seats.

Seemed to be a trend for me this year at SEMA.  I was drawn more to the builds with a story and SEMA was the perfect place to find a culmination of those unique stories.

Read more SEMA Seen: Randy Grubb’s 1959 VW bus/camper

Original turbocharged 1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire hardtop in low-mileage condition

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For 1962, General Motors launched a pair of models with turbocharged engines – the Corvair Monza and the Oldsmobile Jetfire – the first in the U.S. with the forced-induction technology to boost power.

The Pick of the Day is a 1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire, based on the 2-door F-85 and introducing what was then considered to be an exotic performance addition.   The Jetfire is powered by its original 215cid V8 fitted with a Garrett turbocharger that raised horsepower to 215 and torque to 300 pound-feet.  The engine was one of the few at the time to produce one horsepower per cubic inch.

oldsmobile

To prevent detonation from the 10.25-compression turbocharged engine, the GM engineers installed a Turbo Rocket Fluid injector (actually a mix of distilled water, methanol and rust inhibitor) to keep things under control and prevent engine damage.

But that created a problem. It was up to the owner to maintain the Turbo Rocket Fluid level, and if an inattentive driver failed to keep the reservoir full and the fluid ran out, the car would automatically shut off the turbocharger, causing driver complaints that their sporty cars had lost power.

Also, if the driver never pushed the Jetfire hard enough to actuate the turbocharger, the mechanism tended to corrode and lock up over time.

The turbo became an issue for Oldsmobile dealers and caused the experiment to end after just two model years. Only 3,765 Jetfires were sold in 1962 and 5,842 in 1963.

Oldsmobile wound up cutting a deal with dissatisfied Jetfire owners that they could come in to have their engines converted from turbocharging to the standard 4-barrel carburetor setup, which many of them did, and which resulted in original turbocharged Jetfires being quite rare today.

oldsmobile

The Canton, Ohio, dealer advertising the Olds Jetfire on ClassicCars.com (although the ad incorrectly calls it a Jetstar in the headline) says that this is a low-mileage original driven just 47,705 miles with its correct turbo V8, very presentable and in great running condition.

Everything works as it should, the ad says, while the original paint shows just some areas of touchup. The seller notes that the Jetfire had a unique body style, created by the factory taking  F-85 convertibles and welding on steel roofs to create Olds’ only hardtops during those years.

oldsmobile

In the photos with the ad, the Olds looks to be in exceptionally nice condition, with a clean body and very nice interior

“The Jetfire is very rare and hardly ever seen!” the ad says. “It gets LOTS of attention at shows. This is a previously forgotten … car model and always draws a crowd.”

The rare and attractive Jetfire is priced at $44,900.

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

 

Challenger 2 speed-record streamliner on the Mecum docket for Kissimmee

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Like fast cars?  Then how about the fastest piston-powered car in history, the Challenger 2 streamliner driven by Danny Thompson to a record 448.757 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats?

And yes, it’s got a Hemi.  Two of them, matter of fact.

Arguably the world’s most-famous classic speed-record car, Challenger 2 will be offered for bidding during Mecum Auctions’ signature sale at Kissimmee, Florida, in January 2020.

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Challenger 2 making a run at Bonneville

Originally built by the legendary Mickey Thompson, Danny’s father, Challenger 2 took a half century before fulfilling its mission of smashing the highest official SCTA AA/Fuel Streamliner speed record for a piston-engine vehicle, recorded in August 12, 2018, at the Salt Flats, 50 years after its first test run.

The history of the blue projectile is marked by misfortune, even tragedy, before it was refurbished and updated by Danny Thompson to fulfill his late father’s dream.

Mickey Thompson was the first American to break the 400 mph barrier in his Challenger 1 streamliner when he hit 406.60 mph in 1960 at Bonneville to beat Englishman John Cobb’s one-way record of 402 mph. The car unfortunately had a breakdown on its return run, which robbed Thompson of the two-way record.

challenger
The streamliner is about 32 feet long

Thompson returned in 1968 with Challenger 2, a more-sophisticated version of the original Challenger, which was powered by four Pontiac V8 engines. Challenger 2 was rolled out with a pair of single-overhead-cam Ford 427 V8s, engineered with the help of Ford .

In its first tests, Challenger 2 was driven by Thompson to 365 mph, and eventually reached more than 400 mph.  But rain caused flooding, which prevented a record attempt.  Ford later pulled its sponsorship, Thompson put away Challenger 2 and moved on to other racing pursuits.

Mickey and Danny Thompson pulled the Salt Flats racer out of storage 20 years later, planning to pursue another run at the speed record.  But that was not to be. Mickey Thompson and his wife, Trudy, were murdered in March 1988, gunned down at their home in Bradbury, California.  A former business associate was convicted in 2007 of orchestrating the killings.

A heartbroken Danny Thompson put the car back into storage along with other pieces of his father’s racing career.

Aerodynamics made for setting speed records

“But Danny never lost sight of the dream he shared with his father,” according to the Mecum catalog description, “and on the 50th anniversary of the original 406 mph run, he took the wraps off Challenger 2 and moved it to his Huntington Beach, California, shop to facilitate its resurrection, during which he restored, retrofitted and updated the car to meet contemporary SCTA (Southern California Timing Association) requirements.”

While the basic Challenger 2 stayed the same, under its skin was an all-new speed machine.

“Beneath the repainted aluminum envelope, Danny and his team executed a plethora of upgrades,” the catalog says. “The two Ford 427 SOHC engines that originally powered the car were replaced with twin Brad Anderson 500 CI dry-block, A-fuel-type Hemi V8 engines, each driving one set of wheels and running on a brew of 87% nitromethane and 13% methanol through Accufab throttle bodies, more than doubling the original output from a combined 1,800 hp to 5,000 hp.”

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Danny Thompson, who drove Challenger 2 nearly 450 mph

The long list of motorsport components that went into the reborn Challenger 2 is indeed impressive, and can be read about in the catalog description.  Danny Thompson had succeeded in bringing the streamliner back to where it belonged.

Driving at nearly 450 mph on the Bonneville salt, Danny Thompson claimed the record, “vindicating his father’s faith in the streamliner and closing the circle on a 50-year quest to return the Thompson family name to the top of the Bonneville record books,” the catalog concludes.

The Thompson speed-record streamliner will be on the docket along with about 3,500 collector cars, trucks and motorcycles during Mecum’s auction in Kissimmee, Florida, held January 2-12 at Osceola Heritage Park.   For more information, visit the auction website.

It’s a Petersen triple feature: A movie, movie cars, and an electrifying future

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At the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975, Lella Lombardi became the first (and so far the only) woman to score points in a Formula One race. 

Lombardi drove in 17 F1 races from 1974-1976 and raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times. She also raced in NASCAR in 1977.

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‘Beyond Driven’ is a movie about F1 racer Lelala Lombardi | Movie poster

She died of cancer in 1992 at the age of 50 and “her death left behind a mysterious personal life but sparked a powerful legacy of female racers to follow,” the Petersen Automotive Museum notes in its announcement of a screening of the movie, Beyond Driven: The Story of Lella Lombardi and the Women of Formula Racing, to be shown at the Los Angeles institution at 6:30 p.m. on November 15.

The movie was written and produced by Riyaana Hartley and Vincent Tran, whose previous work includes One Under the Sun and Batgirl Rises.

For more information, visit the museum website.

VW, Petersen Building an Electric Future’

The Petersen Automotive Museum also announced a new exhibit, “Building an Electric Future,” in collaboration with Volkswagen to open November 20.

The interactive display will feature five rooms of exhibits and will offer virtual reality experiences designed to showcase the design and construction of future electric-powered vehicles as well as examples of Volkswagen concept vehicles, including the ID vehicle that will be unveiled in a special event at the museum on November 19.

Petersen shares Ford v Ferrari backstory

With the movie Ford v Ferrari opening nationally on November 15, the Petersen museum notes that five cars that played a role in the fight between Ford and Ferrari are included in the museum’s current display. 

“The story of Ford’s triumph over Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans will be told for generations,” museum executive director Terry Karges is quoted in a news release.

“We’re excited to see the film, but we’re most excited to offer fans of the movie an opportunity to see the cars that will be in the film and learn about other vehicles that are pivotal to the Ford v Ferrari back story.” 

Cars the museum points to as involved in the Ford/Ferrari fracas are a 1967 Ford GT40 Mark III, 1962 Shelby Cobra, 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, 1957 Ferrari 625/250 Testa Rossa and 1952 Ferrari 212/225 Barchetta. The’61 250 GT SWB and ’57 625/250 TR both appear in the new movie, the museum adds.

‘Companion’ cars at Studebaker museum

Erskine explored at Studebaker museum | Museum photo

They were called “companion” cars, new brands created to support an existing automaker’s products. For Studebaker, those new brands were Erskine and Rockne, the later named for the famed Notre Dame football coach.

“Although the Erskine and Rockne proved unsuccessful, the lessons learned helped Studebaker develop its most popular model ever — the Champion,” the Studebaker National Museum announced as it prepared for the November 8 opening of a new exhibition, “Reaching the Masses: Studebaker Companion Models.”

The exhibition which tells the stories of the Erskine, Rockne and their competitors runs through February 2020 at the museum in South Bend, Indiana.

ACD sets special ‘Access Days’

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in northeastern Indiana has received a grant from the AWS Foundation to develop programming to increase museum accessibility for the special-needs community. 

The museum also announced two “Access Days” — December 12, 2019, and February 22, 2020 — designed for visitors of all ability levels to engage with new “sensory-friendly programming.”

“Access Days include additional staff and volunteers, access to sensory backpacks, a quiet space, and new hands-on activities,” the museum said.

“Making sure that our museum can serve our entire community is our priority, and we are excited to offer this program free of charge for families and classrooms who may need that extra support,” said Elyse Faulkner, the museum’s education and programs manager.

Special events this weekend

It’s a “Hoods Up” weekend November 9-10 at the Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island, where veterans will receive discounted admission.

The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, hosts its annual Vets ’n Vettes event November 7-9 offering rides around the NCM Motorsports Park, a showboat cruise, road tours and the Bowling Green Veteran’s Day parade. Visit the museum website for details.

The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, will offer free admission to veterans from November 7-11. The museum also serves as a Toys for Tots donation location from November 7 to December 9. Bring an unwrapped toy worth $10 or more and receive free museum admission.

The Kokomo Automotive Museum in Indiana hosts the Hoosier Classic Collector Car Auction on November 9 at the Kokomo Event and Conference Center.

Ice hockey and Veterans Day are very important to the founders of the Stahl’s Auto Collection museum in Chesterfield, Michigan. The annual Team Stahls vs. the Detroit Red Wings Alumni hockey game is set for noon November 9 at the Garden Rink in St. Clair Shores with proceeds going to Guardian Angels, provider of medical service dogs for veterans. And the 6th annual Veterans Day open house at the car collection runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 11.

“Shaken, Not Stirred,” is the theme for a James Bond-inspired fall fundraiser at 5:30 p.m. on November 9 at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento, where music, martinis, casino tables and dinner will be have 007 themes.

Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California, hosts artist Larry Grossman and his series of 2020 calendar from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on November 9.

Mark your calendar

The Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana, offers free admission to veterans and their families on November 11.

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum will host the Philadelphia premiere of the movie, Ford v Ferrari, on November 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Philadelphia Film Center, 1412 Chestnut Street.

The Newport Car Museum in Rhode Island will show the movie Senna at 7p.m. on November 13.

The Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, Indiana, presents “President Abraham Lincoln: Live at the Studebaker,” a presentation November 14 at 1:30 p.m. by Lincoln portrayer Kevin Wood about the years 1854-1865. The event will include a visit to the Lincoln carriage which part of the museum’s collection.

This Ford GT40 will be showcased at Mustang museum | Museum photo

The Mustang Owner’s Museum in North Carolina will offer a special 24 Hours of Le Mans exhibit November 15-16 featuring a Ford GT40, a Ford GT and the Comstock Racing Mustang that competed in France in 1966. The museum will screen the new Ford v Ferrari movie at 7 p.m. on November 15 and the program on November 16 will include several speakers, including Lee Holman at 2 p.m.

The LeMay Collections at Marymount in Tacoma, Washington, stages its annual benefit dinner and sock hop dance from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on November 16.

LeMay – America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, Washington, opens its exhibit, “Saleen: A Journey from the Heard of a Racer to America’s Supercar” on November 16 with a “Saleen & Caffeine: Coffee & Donuts” event featuring Steve Saleen from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. The museum also will exhibit 17 vehicles as part of its tribute exhibit.

The California Automobile Museum in Sacramento will offer a screening of Ford v Ferrari at 11 a.m. on November 17.

Book cover and one of Grubb’s vehicles

Autobooks-Aerobooks in Burbank, California, hosts Randy Grubb and his book, From Mind to Metal, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on November 16. Grubb built Jay Leno’s tank car among other gleaming machines.

A special exhibit, “From the Vault,” opens November 20 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum featuring “treasured vehicles and artifacts” moved to the display area from the museum’s storage vault.

The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles opens “Building an Electric Future,” a special exhibition in conjunction with Volkswagen, on November 20. 

On November 21, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum will stage tours of Andretti Autosport’s nearby race shop. The morning tour is sold out but spots remain for the afternoon visit. For information, visit the museum’s website.

The AACA Museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania, will stage a new-exhibits preview party on November 22 in anticipation of several exhibit openings — Age of Aquarius: Cars of the Counter Culture & Beyond, the DeSoto Display, and Cars & Christmas. The museum also offers a Polar Express pajama party on December 7 and Breakfast with Santa on December 14.

A special exhibition, “Cars: Accelerating The Modern World,” opens November 23 at the Victoria and Albert museum in England. The exhibition runs to April 19, 2020.

The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia will honor Emerson Fittipaldi with its 12th annual Spirit of Competition award to be presented December 2.

Does your local car museum have special events or exhibitions planned? Let us know. Email [email protected].

SEMA Seen: Randy Grubb’s 1959 VW bus/camper

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Grubb’s display at SEMA includes photos of past projects, including the double-decker ‘Magic Bus’

It’s pretty much impossible to walk past one of Randy Grubb’s motorized creations without stopping to appreciate the polished aluminum surfaces of his cars, pods, motorcycles, even a double-decker “Magic Bus.”

Grubb is as much an artist as he is a vehicle builder (he was an acclaimed producer of glass-blown paperweights before returning to his hot-rodding roots). Among his automotive coachbuilding creations are Jay Leno’s Tank Car and the Falconer-Dodici, a modern interpretation of a pre-war car full of French curves powered by a V12 engine.

Modified VW van is ready for camping trip

His “Magic Bus” involved a 1947 Divco delivery truck, a 1973 GMC motorhome and a 23-window Volkswagen Kombi van, which was mounted atop the motorhome-turned-bus, and was built with an elevator to reach the top deck.

The “Magic Bus” was built as a tour vehicle for a San Francisco-based private social club that caters to tech-industry insiders.

But after finishing the bus, Grubb wondered what it might be like to have one of his own. Well, at least the upper-deck section.

So, he found a 1959 11-window Volkswagen and, with the help of VW bus specialist Jeff Gagnon of Grants Pass, Oregon, he not only restored the vehicle but installed revolving front seats and added a sliding sunroof and an aluminum-finished boat-tail rear section. 

There’s even a book about Grubb’s artistic automotive projects

They also installed a 160-horsepower Subaru boxer engine to provide more than sufficient power, Grubb said.

That new and elongated rear section of the vehicle provides space for camping gear, and Grubb and his wife are planning a post-SEMA trip to Yosemite and Sequoia national parks.

To restore or to resto-mod, that is the question

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The Pick of the Day comes with a quandary.

The car is a 1936 Ford 5-window coupe that appears to be immaculate in its advertisement on ClassicCars.com. 

The private seller notes in the car’s advertisement that it was titled by the father-in-law in 1967, “garaged and maintained as an occasional weekend around-town cruiser.  When he passed in 2015, it was then re-titled in Texas and continually garaged.”

The car is powered by a “period correct” 21-bolt 221cid flathead V8 with Stromberg 97 carburetor. The car has a 3-speed manual transmission, 6-volt electrical system and mechanical brakes.

“It does not have the rumble seat, but it does have the crank-down rear window option.”

The seller notes that the car won best in class honors at both car shows in which it was entered, including the Early Ford V8 Club Texas Tour.

So where’s the quandary?

Right here: “This is a great base for a classic restoration project, or a desirable vehicle for a resto-mod,” the seller suggests.

Ford coupes from 1932-34 are very popular with hot rodders, but this is a 1936 model. The asking price is $29,400, which seems reasonable for a car that appears to be ready for cruising, or perhaps even a nice road trip.

The car, located in Plano, Texas, is being offered in “Partially Restored” condition. 

So, would you complete the restoration that the previous owner already had started or would you opt to do a resto-mod with maybe a modern Mustang powertrain and updated suspension and customized interior? Or do you just leave it as is, doing only maintenance to keep it running? 

To view this listing on ClassicCars.com, see Pick of the Day.

SEMA seen: ‘Outlaw’ custom 1968 Honda S800 Coupe

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Central Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center is where I spend most of my time.  Major manufacturers including Toyota, Chevrolet, Ford and Honda are featured there year after year.  This year, I was drawn more to the Honda display due to the variety and specifically because of a perfectly placed piece of history: A 1968 Honda S800 Coupe dubbed the “Outlaw.”

1968 Honda S800 Coupe
Classic but aggressive styling

Based off an original S800, one of the first production cars Honda made, producer and actor Daniel Wu built this custom piece of Honda history.

Instead of doing a ridiculous engine swap, Wu decided to have the original 800cc 4-cylinder engine rebuilt back to new condition.  I’m not necessarily a purist but am very pleased that he made that decision.

I did state that it was a “custom” build and there are several custom features.  A custom body kit was made by Pandem’s Kei Miura, a name likely to be mentioned for the kits produced for several of the 2020 Toyota Supras displayed this year at the SEMA Show.

Pandem offers a variety of wide-body kits for imports, exotics, domestics and European cars, but this kit is bound to remain one of a kind.

The kit includes custom flares and air dam that emphasize the wider stance achieved by fitting the S800 with 13-inch OEM wheels widened by 7 inches in the front and 8 in the rear.  Custom suspension dropped it about two inches from stock. Greddy built a custom exhaust system that exits in the middle of the vehicle’s rear end.

1968 Honda S800A delightful cherry on top was the beautiful cherry-red leather interior.  Another notable touch was the fact that the steering wheel was still the factory wheel but was wrapped in the same red leather.  This completed the “classic tuner’” look fitting for the “Outlaw” nickname.

At SEMA, Honda celebrates 60 years in the US market with a curated display of various historical vehicles mixed in the current and future production vehicles.

But also accompanying the S800 was a restored Chevy pickup that was purchased and used by Honda in 1959 when it opened for business in the US, using the pickup truck to deliver motorcycles to dealers.

1999 Civic Si

Alongside the pickup was a 1999 Civic Si that won the Civic Si Challenge back in 2000.

Read more SEMA seen: AWD twin-turbo Dodge Charger

Nissan Figaro next up for Sotheby’s online auction

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Calling it “the car you never knew you always wanted,” Sotheby’s and RM Sotheby’s have set the next car for their new online-only auction series, a 1991 Nissan Figaro. 

Bidding on the car, which was featured in an episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee television series, runs from November 6-14.

The Figaro, a Japanese Domestic Market vehicle that was not imported during its production to the United States, is the sixth vehicle offered through Sotheby’s Online Only collector car auction series.

“The Nissan Figaro was first introduced at the 1989 Tokyo Motor Show with the slogan ‘Back to the Future’,” Sotheby’s notes in its announcement. “It was so well-received by the public, Nissan put the car immediately into production for the 1991 model year. 

“The charming city car featured a fixed-profile convertible design with 1960s styling and reliable, modern underpinnings. 

The car is powered by Nissan’s MA10E-T, a 76 horsepower, 98cc turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that can propel the car to slightly more than 100 mph.

The Figaro on offer wears Pale Aqua, which Nissan offered as its “Summer” shade. Also available were Lapis Grey (Winter), Green (Spring) and Topaz Mist (Autumn).

The car is chassis FK10-011078 and is one of only 1,500 cars with Tokyo Nouvelle Vague external plaques. It has been driven little more than 9,000 kilometers since new, Sotheby’s added.

“The Nissan Figaro is both a throwback to timelessly appealing 1960s design as well as a car ahead of its time when it came to the onset of retro-styled models from mainstream manufacturers,” Gord Duff, global head of auctions for RM Sotheby’s, is quoted in the news release.

“It offers the design of a classic with the reliability of more modern cars, all at an affordable entry point to the collector car market. Perhaps its most important selling point is that it’s nearly impossible for its driver, passenger, or onlooker to not be in a good mood.”

Family heirloom ’59 Austin Healey 100-6 visits Jay Leno’s garage

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Jay Leno loves a cool car, but when it has a fascinating background, that makes it even better.

“The best [subjects] for this show are the ones that are a good car with a good story,” Jay says in this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, and this 1959 Austin Healey 100-6 fits the bill.

Owner and guest Garth Hammers’ father bought the car on consignment in San Jose in 1973, when Garth was just 8 years old. His father, a car guy and Buick salesman, often lusted after foreign sports cars but was discouraged by the availability of parts for higher-end imports.

healey
Modifications to the Austin Healey were done by the original owner

By the time the Austin Healey made its way to the Hammers family, Garth’s father had grown comfortable with owning European cars, having owned multiple Mercedes-Benz SL Gullwings. The family happened on the Healey the day it had been dropped off for consignment, and took it home.

If this 100-6 looks a bit off, that’s because it’s not stock, and all of the modifications were performed by the original owner. With show-car care, the previous owner chopped the windshield, installed Porsche Speedster seats for a lower seating position, lengthened the hood scoop, and modified the wheel openings.

To Garth, who had never been exposed to Austin Healeys before this one came into the family, it simply looked right.

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Leno takes the wheel of the Healey

Garth and the 100-6 were separated when his father sold the car within two years of purchasing it, but three decades later, he decided to take a stab at tracking it down.

A trip to central California ended up bearing fruit, but even that wild goose chase wasn’t enough to formally reunite the car with its old home. The new owner held out for two years before relenting and agreeing to sell Garth the 100-6.

The car had been reasonably well-maintained, but Garth had to trailer it home and give it some TLC before the 17,000-mile Healey was ready for the road again. It still shows some of its show-car flash, but it remains a survivor rather than a restoration subject, and Garth isn’t quite ready to take it that far yet.

This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com.