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Entries Tagged as 'Roadster'

Ferrari California – East 76th Street, NYC

May 28th, 2010 by Ian

The name California might sound familiar but the new drop top is anything but typical for the Italian fabricator of automotive lust. With California, the list of Ferrari-firsts is long – among them, the first front-mounted V8, first 7G dual clutch gearbox, first use of a retractable hardtop, and first multi-link rear suspension. I think there is however a couple of familiar family traits we can all agree have carried over nicely into the all-new model. It’s damn sexy looks and ability to make people want one.

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Garage Queens – Tesla Roadster Sport: W25th Street, NYC

January 19th, 2010 by Stu

I am convinced that automakers hold quarterly brainstorm sessions where product planning and bean counting executives get loopy on highballs and spout off crazy premiums to tack onto today’s special edition models. Take this Tesla Roadster Sport for example – it has a bit more grunt courtesy of a hand wound stator, an adjustable suspension set up for more hard core handling, some unique badging to rise above plebian non sport models and a slick set of black forged alloy wheels wrapped in more aggressive rubber. Certainly the content sounds meaningful, but is improved handling and a 0.2 second improvement from 0 to 60 mph (3.7 seconds in the Sport) worth $19,500 more than the base Roadster? The answer is no.

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MG MGB Roadster – West 11th Street, NYC

January 14th, 2010 by Ian

MG-West 11th 1According to the all-knowing web god known as Wikipedia, MG made 523,836 of these little MGBs. Just as a point of reference, combined 2009 sales for Mazda, Volvo, Mini, Buick and Acura amounted to about that much (522,456). Long story short, these classic sports cars ain’t all that rare. Despite their abundance, Mark III models like this one are still pretty desirable (sans rubber bumpers of course). And shockingly safe thanks to MG’s early use of controlled crumple zones. Don’t believe me? click here.

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Mercedes 230SL – West 23rd Street, NYC

January 4th, 2010 by Ian

Benz1We’re not naïve to the fact that advancements in comfort, safety, reliability, performance and quality inevitably add heft and complexity to vehicle designs over time. And we know new cars are worlds apart from the classics in every measurable way. With that being said, today’s Mercedes SL550 sure has come a long way since the days of this 1960s 230SL we spotted on West 23rd in Chelsea. Outside of modern gadgetry like a retractable hard top, Active Body Control and the multifunction COMAND interface, it’s about 10 inches longer, nearly 1,400 pounds heavier and cost about $80,000 more than the pretty little roadster produced from 1963 to 1967.

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Under the hood: Bob Millstein

December 28th, 2009 by Stu

Pictured – Restoration czar Bob Millstein pulling the tarp off his lovingly rejuvenated Jaguar XK120 Roadster

Bob Millstein - Jaguar XK120

My father and I have been clamoring for knowledge on vintage Jaguar XKs lately. The old man is hot to acquire one of the beautiful sports cars as a sunny Sunday driver and, if my mother asks, an investment that will only continue to appreciate over time. Unlike shopping new, finding the classic car of your dreams means more than a weekend or two of kicking tires at the local dealership. It requires chat room discussions galore, visits to every classic car show you can find and endless thumbing through Hemmings and Sport Car Market. Most importantly, it requires spending inordinate amounts of time with people like Bob Millstein.

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Austin Healey 3000 – Jericho Turnpike, Long Island

December 22nd, 2009 by Stu

Austin Healey 3000 - Jericho TurnpikeWinter is officially here and, as if walking outside wasn’t unpleasant enough, the cabs are making dirt-flavored slushies out of last weekend’s snowfall. I figured sharing these images of happy Long Island motorists enjoying their classic roadster on a beautiful Autumn day might cheer you up. So think warm thoughts and enjoy.

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Porsche 356 Speedster – 9th Avenue, NYC

November 3rd, 2009 by Stu

Speedster 1

One of our loyal readers caught this beautiful bathtub posed in front of Pastis in the Meatpacking District. This Speedster is so clean, so perfect in every way, that it seems entirely plausible to think it’s a fugazi. A good looking, high quality fugazi – but a fugazi nonetheless. We could be wrong of course – and a real one of these would fetch quite a bit of coin at the auction block – but it just seems too good to be true.

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New York Tesla Gallery – West 25th Street, NYC

September 10th, 2009 by Ian

Tesla

Tesla’s Manhattan dealership is live and kicking and the less-is-more decor screams high priced artwork not electric sports car retailer. Although that seems to have been the point in Tesla choosing to open shop in Chelsea’s art district rather than the obvious Park Avenue (Ferrari/Maserati, Audi Forum, Mercedes) or “dealer row” locations that all the other brands have flocked to. They even go as far as to brand the dealership, which used to be an actual gallery, as the “New York Tesla Gallery”.

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Jaguar XK150 Roadster – 7th Ave & 21st Street, NYC

February 19th, 2009 by Stu

jaguar-xk150
In a sea of yellow cabs and delivery vans, it was hard to miss this 1960 XK150 Roadster cruising down 7th avenue. The lucky guy behind the wheel, a retired ad executive and former president of the Jaguar Club of NY, tells us that he is the only owner this beautiful Jag has ever known and that the car has lived in Manhattan since new.

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