Classic Cars
It’s Ridiculous: The Story Behind Fast 9’s Mid-Engine, Hellcat-Powered ’68 Dodge Charger
You can only ask this question in the context of a Fast and Furious film: How do you top a ’68 Dodge Charger with a jet engine in the trunk? Easy—a ’68 Charger with a Hellcat in the back seat. How does a Hellcat engine, even one tuned to Demon specification like this one, top a jet engine? Because it’s real. That’s right, kids, the jet engine sticking out the back of the “Ice Charger” in 2017’s Fate of the Furious was just a prop. The car was powered by a Chevy LS3 V-8 pushed back under the dashboard to make room for an all-wheel-drive system. Cool stuff, but the mid-engine Charger is the real deal. At least, two of them are. See all 15 photos “Now, when I say we built nine, they’re not all identical,” he explains. “There...
So, I Bought a 1994 Dodge Caravan With a Manual Transmission
As the hand struck who-knows o’clock, the online car shopping vortex sucked me in once again. For months I’d been on the hunt, motivated by whimsy as much as need. Instinctually I punched in my search parameters. Image? Has. Color? Green. Transmission? Manual. Price? A Camaro’s convertible top costs more. By that point I was used to miscategorized ads, but this one said “five-speed manual” right up top. The photos confirmed it—a shifter wrapped in a rubber accordion boot stood proud on the floor. Calls were made, dollars were extracted, papers were signed. Next thing I knew, I was cruising home in my 1994 Dodge Caravan minivan. See all 44 photos This is no hoity-toity Grand Caravan, mind you—rather, it is shockingly basic. Five seats and a single sliding door ...
Porsche Boxster at 25: 1997* Original vs. 2021 Anniversary Edition
“Putting Porsche in the Pink.” That was the headline on a New York Times story published on January 20, 1996, detailing the German marque’s effort to turn around its finances and reinvent the way it had built cars for more than 40 years. As the newspaper pointed out, the company that produced must-have products for the upwardly mobile during the cartoonishly decadent ’80s—in 1986, North American sales exceeded 30,000 units—had reached its last gasp. Antiquated, inefficient manufacturing processes collided head-on with an economic recession and a misjudged, aging product range to result in just 3,713 sales in the same region in 1993. Threatened with bankruptcy, Porsche had to change. As the 968 and 928—the latter originally and inconceivably meant to replace the 911—...
Obscure, Futuristic ’70s Mazda RX500 Concept Was Immortalized in Die-Cast Form
It’s late 1970. Mazda has been at the rotary engine game for almost a decade, developing the problematic Felix Wankel/NSU design into a formidable, powerful, and futuristic little powerplant. It was the highlight of the forward-looking production 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S. While beautiful, and interesting, the Cosmo Sport merely (albeit expertly) epitomized the now. The RX500 Concept, which took the stage at the 17th Tokyo Motor Show, envisioned a rotary-powered future straight out of a Syd Mead sketchbook. The RX500’s aesthetic is pure ’70s sci-fi, with a wrap-around windshield that makes it look like a starfighter for the road. The ports on the engine cover and fenders look like exhausts for some sort of fusion reactor, the mirrors look like sensor pods, the large inl...
Who Invented 0–60 MPH? Why, It Was Tom McCahill, Of Course
Fifty years after Tom McCahill invented “zero to 60,” it remains the road-test’s benchmark number. Simple to understand, easy to compare, McCahill’s 0-to-60-mph yardstick captured the public’s imagination. Bolstered by frequent use in automotive advertising, nought-to-sixty took on a significance way beyond its true value. Nobody cared about other figures. Forget quarter-mile times, esoteric 45-to-65-mph passing numbers; only top speed gets close to resonating with enthusiasts in the same way. Thomas Jay McCahill’s first road test, on a 1946 Ford, appeared in the February 1946 issue of Mechanix Illustrated magazine. Readers soon learned that, as well as his elementary, much quoted 0-to-60 time, McCahill provided irreverent, vibrant words that made the ca...
Mazda Just Restored Its Amazing MX-81 Aria Concept Styled by Bertone
At the intersection of Italian design and Japanese technology, Mazda unveiled the MX-81 Aria concept at the 1981 Tokyo Motor Show. It was Mazda’s first model to receive the MX badge (for Mazda eXperimental), a moniker the Japanese automaker would reserve for vehicles that pushed boundaries, and the futuristic MX-81 set the standard. See all 45 photos Marc Deschamps, head of design at Turin-based coachbuilder Bertone, designed the MX-81 and borrowed styling cues from the 1979 Volvo Tundra concept. The prolific Italian designer Marcello Gandini had created the wedge-shaped Volvo concept, which Volvo ultimately rejected. The collaboration with Bertone began in the early 1960s when Mazda hired Giorgetto Giugiaro to work on the first-generation Familia and Luce 1500 show car. Painted...
Adorably Terrible ’92 Geo Metro Convertible Sold for Thousands by Fancy Auction House
This bright blue 1992 Geo Metro Convertible was the headliner of RM Sotheby’s “Handle With Fun” online auction that ended today. The time-limited auction featured a variety of rare and vintage collectibles and memorabilia, including several gumball cross-country racing machines, but this humble subcompact stood out. How could it not? It just seems so wonderfully incongruous with the silver-spoon RM Sotheby’s auction house handling the sale. The Geo was listed for sale for $3,700 (there was no reserve) before bidding opened. It belonged to a single owner in California—think about that! It’s a 1992 model. After 31 bids, the cute bite-sized convertible moved on to owner number two for only $4,000. The well-preserved topless two-door came with a clean Carfax...
Changing Your ’80s or ’90s Ride’s Oil This Weekend? Motul Has Rad Options
Unless you’ve been cut off from the internet or spent the previous few years under a large rock, you’re probably aware that ’80s and ’90s-vintage cars are red-hot. These rad-era rides were on the posters on recently minted adults’ walls when they were kids, and those recently minted adults now have the cash to go out and buy the Toyota Supras, Ferrari 355s, and old Mercedes-Benzes they grew up worshipping. The nostalgia can run thick for those who manage to snag their dream ride —perhaps thicker than oil. So it seems fitting that the oil they put in their engines drips with the same hazy nostalgia, right? See all 21 photos Enter Motul’s new line of classic engine oils, which are geared toward cars of a certain age (and beyond). While not limited to ̶...
Aston Martin DB6 Sells for Over $250K After Collecting Dust for 30 Years
Despite its somewhat ragged condition, this DB6 still retains its original engine and red-over-black exterior and interior color combination. The powerplant parked under this car’s hood is no ordinary DB6 unit, either. This DB6 is reportedly one of just 71 factory-built Vantage models, which turned up the wick on the sports car’s 4.0-liter I-6 engine, boosting power from 282 hp to 325. And that’s on top of the fact this particular DB6 is a later Mk II model, which means its five-speed gearbox benefits from a heftier clutch and its three-spoke steering wheel connects to a standard power-assist setup. Admittedly, this tired-looking DB6 is not pretty. But remove the dirt, dust, and grime spattered about its body and interior, and this classic Aston might just be one of the m...
Baja Blast: History of the Subaru Baja, the Outback of Car-Trucks
Subaru is not a player in the midsize, full-size, or heavy-duty pickup truck segments. It doesn’t currently offer anything with a bed—today. It wasn’t always that way, though. Once upon a time, there was the Subaru Brat. It was a funky Subaru Leone-based truck that Subaru ultimately pulled the plug on in 1987. Fast forward a couple of years, and Subaru brought the spirit of the Brat back in the form of the Baja compact pickup. Except, instead of the Leone, the Baja used the Subaru Legacy Outback wagon as a base. See all 20 photos Although the rhyming Bs of the Brat and the Baja may be confusing, these Subaru trucks share next to nothing in common. The Brat and the Baja did, however, share a groovy, rebellious spirit that blurred the line between car and truck. It wasn...
Fifty Years of R107: Mercedes’ Third-Gen SL Celebrates Its Golden Anniversary
Few vehicles evoke a lineage of refined luxury like the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class. The SL can trace its roots back to the groundbreaking 300SL that Mercedes sent racing—with success—in the 1950s. Fast and beautiful, the original SL was a technical triumph, with direct fuel injection and a space frame that necessitated those iconic “gullwing” top-hinged doors. A less overtly sporting SL (despite the SL name flowing from “Sportlich-Leicht,” which translates to “Sport Lightweight”), followed, though it continued to deliver unmatched class and, later, a distinctive “pagoda” hardtop. And then came the R107-generation SL-Class in 1971, which would cement the SL’s silver-spoon status through an incredible 18-year production run. See all 21 p...
Buy Ken Block’s Rare 700-HP Ford RS200, Gymkhana Fiesta STs
You know Ken Block, Hoonigan, the Gymkhana series—and Block’s long relationship with Ford. As of this year, that relationship has come to an end. It’s not clear what brand relationship is next for Block, or whether there is one, but it does mean that there are apparently a few Fords that won’t be part of the driver’s stable anymore. But they could be part of yours. See all 46 photos Two of Block’s cars available for purchase are legit Gymkhana stars, the actual vehicles featured in 3, 6, 8, and Terrakhana—both Ford Fiesta STs. “GYM3” is a 2011 FiST built by Olsbergs MSE, making 600 horsepower from its 1.6-liter EcoBoost engine and rocking a MakTrak 6-speed sequential gearbox. It’s wearing the dripping-paint livery from its 2010 iteration, and...
