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.
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.
The Ferrari Testarossa burst onto the scene in 1984 like a four-wheeled nuke, unleashed by Ferrari to reclaim territory that had been captured by the Porsche 911 Turbo and Lamborghini Countach.
Ferrari built its reputation on dual-purpose machines, the sports and GT cars one could drive on the road during the week and to the track on the weekend. There were more comfort-oriented models, such as the 250 GT Lusso, but the 250’s immediate successor, the 275 GTB and 275 GTB/4, skewed closer to the pure sports car side of the family.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Italy’s “big three” couture carmakers – Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati – responded to customer demand for high-end GTs that offered more room than their 1960s models. The Lamborghini Jarama secured its unique place in Lamborghini history as one of its last front-engine models.
