Automotive connoisseurs are likely to keep their garages stocked with the best internal combustion vehicles from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Porsche for a long time. But it’s a safe bet those same garages will make room for high-performance EVs.
Known as the “Rambo Lambo” for monster proportions, monster looks and monster capability, the Lamborghini LM002, also was a 6,600-pound, 4-wheel drive leviathan powered by a V12 and capable to traversing the Arabian Peninsula at very high speed – without a road. On Rodeo Drive, it was the ultimate status machine, able to frighten small children and make grown men swoon – and vice versa, too.
With just about every mainstream luxury segment accounted for, Mercedes-Benz has been lavishing much attention on its high-end offerings, with AMG on the performance side and Maybach on the uber-luxury side. The recently introduced Mercedes-Maybach S650 Cabriolet is the ultimate open S-Class.
We’ve assembled our “12 Classics Cars of Christmas” with cars that inspire lust but won’t end up gathering dust in the garage. A few, admittedly, may also bring back Santa’s own memories searching in every store only to find all have been sold. We even included a few stocking stuffers for family enjoyment.
Despite the Porsche 911’s immense and ongoing success, the 356 series has always maintained a loyal fan base. The 356 was, however, a notorious ruster, which claimed many of the 76,000 built from 1948-1965. The rarest, including the first 50 or so coupes hand-built in Gmund, Austria between 1948 and 1950, plus some later models, can fetch $1.5 million.
The Lamborghini Miura veritably defined 1960s sports car beauty. Its successor, the utterly unique Lamborghini Countach, introduced “brutal” to the equation and became a landmark supercar design.
To do something completely different, after a dozen years rallying around Western Virginia and West Virginia, we moved Mountain Mille 300 miles South. The rally took place just a week after Hurricane Matthew, but the storm affected coastal North Carolina and not the western mountains. Even better, the weather for the rally was perfect.
If the sounds of the screaming engines and screeching tires from a vintage automobile rally are still echoing in your ears, it’s a safe bet you were not on the six-day Rolls-Royce Owners Club (RROC) Fall Tour through some of the most beautiful costal and inland areas near San Luis Obispo.
The Levante takes its name from a warm Mediterranean wind. Maserati must get credit for successfully transferring its design language to the SUV form. There doesn’t appear to be a straight line anywhere on the body, just plenty of elegant curves and no attempt to look truckish. Squint, and you can see a bit of Infiniti’s SUV designs here and there, and the mini fender vents still look a bit Buick-ish to some.
