Author Archives: Trevor Freeman

About Trevor Freeman

Trevor is a real gearhead who loves everything from classic American muscle cars to high-performance exotics. When he's not reading about cars or taking photos at a car show, he's probably out cruising around. He is currently working on restoring a 1980 Chevrolet Monza hatchback.

1965 Ford Mustang GTS Fastback ‘Bad Apple’

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While walking around at Barrett-Jackson 2014, I spotted this ’65 Mustang Fastback nicknamed “Bad Apple.” Honestly, it looked so good I thought it was a Ringbrothers car at first glance. The shaved door handles and no side mirrors give it a really sleek, streamlined look. As it turns out, this car was actually built by Jim Green’s Performance Center in Monroe, WA.

On the one hand, this is a really nice build. The work that has gone into this car is first rate and I truly believe that it was a $200,000 build, as mentioned in the auction notes. On the other hand, this car exemplifies just how ridiculous the muscle car world has become.

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2009 Mosler Raptor GTR Prototype

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One of my favorite things about Barrett-Jackson is coming across all of the weird, limited-production, boutique cars that you just never see anywhere else. The Mosler Raptor GTR is a perfect example of this.

Started in the mid-1980s, Mosler Automotive has been the side project of hedge fund manager Warren Mosler. Unfortunately, the company seems to have dissolved in 2013. The Riviera Beach, Florida-based company made a variety of cars for the street and for the track, and one of these was the Raptor GTR.

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2012 Falcon F7 Supercar

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The history of the automobile in America is filled with dreamers who saw an existing car or idea and thought to themselves “I can do better.” People such as Henry Kaiser, John DeLorean, Malcolm Bricklin, Henrik Fisker, and countless others held that dream for a short time, only to watch it slip through their fingers. Starting a car company is really, really hard to do – even for those who are blessed with talent, ideas, money, and a whole lot of luck.

Enter Jeff Lemke, an entrepreneur from Holly, Michigan (a small town about 50 miles outside of Detroit). Lemke has years of experience in building aftermarket parts for Dodge Vipers. In 2009, he decided he wanted to do his own car and started a company called Falcon Motorsports.

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Pagani Huayra: Insanity on Wheels

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When it comes to Italian supercars, there is an unwritten social order of things. Ferrari is at the top, with decades of racing experience and some of the world’s best road-legal supercars money can buy. Lamborghini is a close second, having designed and built some of the wildest and most iconic vehicles in the world.

Both companies have been around for over 50 years. Both make very fast and very expensive cars. Both have proven that they’ve got what it takes when it comes to radical engineering and even more radical design. They’ve both got pedigree.

Then in 1992, this Lamborghini engineer by the name of Horacio Pagani decides to leave the company to do his own car. Continue reading →

1967 Toyota 2000GT: The Japanese ‘E-Type’

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One of the cars that caught my eye at the Arizona Concours d’Elegance was this gleaming white coupe. It had the classic long hood and short decklid look of a European car, like a Jaguar E-type. The car also had a large diameter wooden steering wheel like a sixties-era Ferrari. However, the car I was looking at was neither British nor Italian – it was a Toyota from Japan!

The 2000GT is a very rare car, with only 337 ever built. This one is particularly rare, because it is one of just 62 left-hand drive models made for the U.S. market. This car is significant because it’s the car that made people sit up and pay attention to Toyota as an automobile manufacturer.

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Inaugural Arizona Concours d’Elegance Exceeds Expectations

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Concours d’Elegance is a French expression that means competition of elegance, and is most often used in relation to automobiles. A concours is essentially a beauty pageant for rare and elegant cars.

There are several examples of these shows in America. The largest and most well-known is the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey, which has been held annually since 1950. A similar show has been held at Amelia Island in Florida since 1971.

Recently, a Concours d’Elegance show was held in Arizona for the very first time. On Sunday, January 12th, 2014, about 2,000 people gathered at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix for this inaugural event. The resort, which opened in 1929, is known for its unique architecture and luxurious accommodations and has hosted every U.S. President since Herbert Hoover.

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