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Evans Series 1: A Georgia-built supercar takes on the world
Originally published in Road & Track’s Exotic Car Quarterly, Fall 1990 Evans Series 1; John Matras photos Is this how Colin Chapman started out? Did Ferry Porsche spend most of his time meeting government regulations? Whould Enzo Ferrari have succeeded ...
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Excalibur SS Series 1: In the beginning, it was a sports car
History originally published in AutoWeek, April 6, 1985 All right, let’s have a show of hands. Who thinks that Excalibur is a sports car? Ha, just as I thought. It’s unanimous, except for that guy with the toupee that ties ...
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Singer Roadster: The Last Aria of a Dying Diva
Originally published in AutoWeek in August 8, 1983. It must’ve been rather bleak at Singer Motors as 1956 approached. The Birmingham firm predated the automobile as a manufacturer of bicycles, and it entered the motor business in 1901. By 1928, ...
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1970 Opel Kadett Rallye 1.9: Imported Sizzle
History originally published in AutoWeek August 5, 2002 The Opel Kadett was advertised as the “Mini-Brute,” and one could hardly argue with the first half of the nickname. The Kadett, built by GM’s German subsidiary and imported for sale in ...
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1989 Mazda RX-7 Infini IV: The Orient Express
First published in the book, Sports Car Color History Mazda RX-7 (1994) by John Matras 1989 Mazda RX-7 Infini IV; photos by John Matras The first Infini was a 1987 Mazda 323. But it was more than an ordinary 323, ...
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1966 427 Cobra: More powerful than a locomotive, yet well-mannered at rest
History originally published in Autoweek February 8, 1988 I had watched the morning mist rise and seen the sun come up, casting first light and shadows over the bulging, primitive shape of a 427 Cobra. I had heard the idle ...
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“You should make a book out of all the things you’ve written.”
-Automobile Reader
I’m John Matras, and during a career of freelance auto writing, I’d heard that request too many times to ignore it, but rather than the hassle of a book I decided to start compiling a website with reprints of articles about classic and collector cars, as well as contemporary reviews of cars that are old enough to be classics, from AutoWeek, Road & Track Specials, Car and Driver, European Car, Collectible Automobile, Sport Compact Car, and more.
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