1935-1939 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900
I was at an outdoor auction once, and a barn-find 8C went for a couple million dollars. A barn find. This was a worn-out, tatty, unrestored, undriveable mess, covered in surface rust and moth droppings and assorted junk of the ages. And yet, even among all the other beautiful iron there-everything from Delahayes to Detroit muscle-the Alfa stood out. It was like seeing a gorgeous actress or model wearing girl-next-door clothes; somehow, it became even more appealing. Click here to see the original 8C 2900 story.
1954-1957 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing
Whenever you see a Gullwing in person, you inevitably have to sit there and stare. It doesn't matter if you've seen a 300SL once, twice, or a thousand times; it's so simple, so obvious, and so universally appreciated, it never ceases to amaze. We've seen a couple in person (and a few of us have driven them), and one thing remains: there are few German cars (of any era) that we lust over. This is one of them. Click here to see the original Gullwing story.
1966-1972 Lamborghini Miura
If this doesn't look gorgeous to you, then you have no soul and are a blind camel salesman living in the south of Morocco. Need an explanation? Go back to selling dromedarys, you soulless freak. Click here to see the original Miura story.
1936-1938 Mercedes-Benz 500K/540K Special Roadster
An old road tester from some long-lost magazine once drove a pre-war supercharged Mercedes and pronounced it almost worthless except for two things: the amazing noise it made, and the fact that it looked like sheer unadulterated intimidation. We like to think it's what the love child of an unstoppable freight train and Scarlett Johanssen would look like. Regardless, that's one damn pretty-slash-intimidating baby. Or something. (What were we talking about again?) Click here to see the original 500K/540K story.
1961-1966 Jaguar XK-E
Strangely, and without question, it looks like a penis on wheels. And yet, it's far and away the one car everyone can identify; the one car everyone wants. Go figure. (Then, of course, there's the old Henry Manney quote: he once called it "the greatest crumpet collector known to man." And yes, by "crumpet," he meant, well, booty.) Click here to see the original XKE story.