Originally published in AutoWeek July 1, 1986 Smoother than prom night velvet, slicker than satin sheets, more exotic than a night in Bangkok, that’s the Lamborghini 400GT 2+2. Pull out the thesaurus, plagiarize McCahill and Purdy, the car is that good. Better, perhaps, than the Miura and the Countach. Certainly more practical, which isn’t why […]
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale: Special Indeed
Originally published in Autoweek, September 13, 1982 Walk around the car. Watch the light work on it, cascade over the body like the ripples of a Disney-animated waterfall. Watch’s reflections slide over the fender, slip down into the trough between the fender and the hood and then spread into a quiet pool over the hood […]
Driving the new Maserati Biturbo
Originally published in AutoWeek, January 3, 1983 There are two Maserati Biturbos in the country, and AutoWeek has just driven one of them. It was a European production model and the trip was painfully short, but sufficient to prove that all the good things you’ve heard about the new baby Maser are true. First of […]
Ferrari 250GT Spyder California: A Ferrari for the Club, even if the Club is LeMans
Originally published in AutoWeek August 12, 1985 They don’t build elegant race cars anymore. Sophisticated lines don’t mesh with the crunch and thrust of modern racing, where equipage is carbon fibered and monocoqued and wind-tunneled and sponsor-covered and as functionally ugly an IBM PC. But it wasn’t always that way. Once upon a time one […]
1971-74 De Tomaso Pantera: Ford’s “affordable” exotic at home among the classics
Originally published in AutoWeek, August 7, 1989 If longevity has anything to say about virtue, as it does with, say, the VW Beetle or Citroen 2CV, then the De Tomaso Pantera is pure as the Vestal Virgin’s dormitory and more correct than a spelling bee champion. Few cars first sold in 1971 are still marketed […]
Maserati Ghibli Spider: Driving under the Influence.
Originally published in AutoWeek October 18, 1982 Maserati Ghibli Spider, photos by John Matras. Summer nights are special magic, a sorcery that suspends time and makes déjà vu the common experience. A web of warmth and darkness and fantasy. The weatherman may say it is warm and humid, but anyone with a soul knows it’s […]
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