Category Archives: Classic Cars

Canadian Buys Most Expensive Car Ever Sold at Auction

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A red Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider, one of only 10 ever built, was recently sold at auction for $27.5 million (U.S.).

A Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider recently sold at auction for $27.5 million

A Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spider recently sold at auction for $27.5 million

Various reports peg the buyer as Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.  Mr Stroll built his fortune in the 1990s helping develop the Tommy Hilfiger clothing brand and is worth an estimated $1.8 billion.  He reportedly already owns more than 20 other Ferraris, as well as a race track near Mont Tremblant, Que., to drive them on.

N.A.R.T. stands for North American Racing Team, a Ferrari-backed venture created in the late 1950s to promote the brand in the U.S.  A 275 N.A.R.T. Spider was featured in the 1968 film “The Thomas Crown Affair” starring Steve McQueen.

The previous sales record for a sports car sold at auction in the United States was a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 raced by Juan Manuel Fangio.

Sources: Wheels.ca; Forbes.com; Wikipedia

Isetta

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Isetta

Isetta

The Isetta was a micro car that was originally developed in Italy by the scooter and refrigerator company of Iso SpA and was first released in 1953. It was powered by the 9.5 hp motorcycle engine found in the Iso Moto 200 and became known as the ‘bubble’ car thanks to its egg like shape.

The design of the Isetta was licensed to a number of companies around the world including in Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil, the UK and to BMW of Germany.  In 1955, BMW redesigned the Isetta around a one-cylinder, four-stroke, 247 cc motorcycle engine which generated 13 hp. Although the design remained the same ,much of the parts in the BMW version were not inter-changeable with the Iso Isetta. BMW produced over 160,000 vehicles until production ceased in 1962.

The Isetta has been featured numerous times in pop culture since its launch 60 years ago, including being the vehicle character Steve Urkel drove in the TV sitcom Family Matters and an Isetta was found by Barry Weiss wrapped up in a storage unit in the first season of the reality show Storage Wars.

Steve Urkel's Car in Family Matters

Steve Urkel’s Car in Family Matters

Most recently Petrolicious has recently added a video to their library on Jack Charney, an auto enthusiast from California that owns a 1957 BMW Isetta which he originally bought new, sold it and then was able to acquire it again years later.  It’s a wonderful video, with the fantastic cinematography we have come to expect from Petrolicious.

Sources: Wikipedia, Microcar Museum, Petrolicious

San Francisco Skyline

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Continuing our focus on Japanese cars this week, the following video entitled San Francisco Skyline takes a look at pair of Skylines owned by Ivan Jaramillo. He talks about the interest that the cars bring when he drives them on the streets in and around San Francisco, even from people who don’t know what they are. Jaramillo’s philosophy is to drive these cars as much as he can so he can enjoy them, as opposed to looking at them in a garage, which has a certain logic.

VW Bus – Simple Soul

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In our continuing effort to bring you interesting and cool car videos found found in cyberspace, today we focus in on a short film called Simple Soul.  Simple Soul is part of the Depth of Speed series and this video focuses on the T1 version of the VW bus, or also known officially as the VW Type 2 (T1 version). The narrator talks about his love of the VW bus, including its simplicity in terms of the mechanics and design.  The popularity of the VW bus has had its ups and downs over the years.  In the narrator’s opinion its popularity is on its way up again as people are interested in reliving some of their youth, or have found memories of the VW bus that they want to regain.  The particular VW bus profiled in this video has a beautiful paint job. It makes you want to go out on a long road trip this summer!

MegaSpeed Custom Car & Truck Show 2013

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International Center
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
March 22-24, 2013

This year was the 2nd year for the MegaSpeed Show and they came to play with a strong list of big name guests and legendary car personalities including; American Graffiti stars, Chip Foose, Ken Block and Formula Drift pilot Chris Forsberg. It’s no easy feat putting on a huge car show when the weather is essentially still cold and wintry. Hence, the show is held indoors in the sprawling complex made up of close to 500,000 sq. ft of exhibit space. The event draws a broad range of auto enthusiasts and provides something for everyone since the show cars span from all genres and eras of enthusiast styling.  Check out a glimpse of what the show offered and make sure you add it to your Spring calendar next year.

458 Italia Ferrari

458 Italia Ferrari

64 Impala

1964 Impala

1940 Dodge

1940 Dodge

1987 Buick GNX

1987 Buick GNX

Fiat Abarth

Fiat Abarth

Cadillac

1940s Cadillac

Crazy custom Ford Fairlane

Crazy custom Ford Fairlane

Ford 100

Ford F-100

Nissan 300ZX 2+2 with 800-1000 HP and Aston Martin DB9

Nissan 300ZX 2+2 with 800-1000 HP and Aston Martin DB9

Low rider Impala

Low rider Impala

1970 Ford Maverick

1970 Ford Maverick

Mini Cooper with Honda VTEC engine

Mini Cooper with Honda VTEC engine

Porsche Speedster

Porsche Speedster

1990s 993 Porsche wide body

1990s 993 Porsche wide body

A Porsche 911 that does it all

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Back in December, we posted coverage on Urban Outlaw, a video bio about the life of Magnus Walker, the famed LA based, rebel Porsche customizer. Well, recently we came across another epic story we want to share that adds to the mystique of the sports car from Deutschland’s city of Stuttgart.

A fiction writer by trade, Jack Olsen taught himself how to work on cars while also building himself the ultimate garage called the 12-Gauge Garage. Inside this magnificent garage, he has created a beautiful one-off Porsche 911 called Black Beauty II. Upon first glance, Jack’s Porsche looks like a sixties or seventies model but actually, it combines four decades of 911 parts ranging from 1965 through to 2000. Comprised of a lightweight body from 1972, the transaxle from 1977, the brakes from a 1986 Turbo and the engine from 1995 model it truly is one of a kind. And with a fighting weight of only 2,400 pounds and 272 horsepower at the crank, the old girl can really move around the track.

Jack Olsen

But the truly amazing part of this story is how this Porsche does it all – whether it’s trips with the family to 7-11, Sunday afternoon drives or full-fledged track days, Jack uses this car to do what it was designed for – drive smooth and fast.  In today’s age of Trailer Queens and Barrett-Jackson auctions, Jack’s passion and purity of using his sports car is truly inspiring.  It also helps that Jack lives in sunny California with its spectacular roads and tracks all within a short drive.

To experience this awesome Porsche for yourself take some time to watch the video below.

Source: Petrolicious

Mazda Miata “Banshee”

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Banshee

We just had to do something on the Mazda Miata “Banshee” since anytime you go and jam a V8 engine in a small sports car you are going to get a major reaction from people who either love it or hate it. This example built several years ago by Gearz TV host Stacey David is truly exceptional and is worth taking a closer look at. As kit cars go, this build is at the top of the list in terms of its overall low cost =.tons of power and fun.

The Banshee is built on the platform of the Mazda MX-5, also known as Miata in North America and Eunos Roadster in Japan. Mazda first introduced the model at the 1989 Chicago Auto show as a lightweight, two seat roadster with minimal mechanical complexity. However, along with the simple mechanics of the car came a philosophical style aimed at linking modern Japanese technology with the rich history and flair of the small British and Italian roadsters of the 1960s such as; the Triumph Spitfire, MGB, Fiat 124 Sport Spider, Alfa Romeo Spider and Lotus Elan.

In addition to the Banshee kit, there are other available non kit car options out there including this video of a company in California called Monster Miata which provides customers with the option of swapping the Miata’s factory four cylinder engine for a 5.0L Ford V8.  Yes, the name Monster does do it justice as these Monster modifications transform the lady like Miata into a fire breathing track dragon.

Craig Jackson’s Garage

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Here at RedlineNorth, we’re always on the look out for quality videos about cars and car people.  Recently, we came across an interesting video which is a bit of a combo on the series Cribs.  It’s a behind the scenes look at Craig Jackson’s house and his out of this world garage.  Yes, Craig is the CEO/Chairman of Barrett-Jackson and has some sweet rides to say the least.

The Real Thing

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RedlineNorth has come across a great video about Bodie Stroud, a custom hot rod builder, who restored a classic Mustang using an extremely rare and powerful motor built specifically for legendary racer Mario Andretti’s 1969 Can Am series race car. It’s quite an undertaking, with great results. Enjoy!