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 […]
Bentley by Bertone
Originally published in Automobile, June 1992 Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt’s industrial empire included, almost as a sideline, sales and distribution of chiefly British cars and sports-car accessories. He even dabbled in “manufacturing” with the Arnolt-MG and Arnolt-Bristol, which were MG TDs and modified Bristol 404s bodied by Bertone. Seven Aston Martins were handcrafted by Bertone for […]
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 […]
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 […]
Iso Grifo: The Lion and the Eagle
Originally published in AutoWeek May 17, 1982 Iso Grifo; photos by John Matras The Eagle. Symbol of flight and airborne grace. Bent, curved, hammered on an anvil of air. Daughter of the wind. The Lion. Symbol of strength and mastery. Graceful only in the most brutish sense, beautiful only in the expression of power. Son […]
What They’re Saying