Tag Archives: exotic car

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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Matte Orange 2007 Bentley Continental GT

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To an average person on the street, a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce are pretty much the same thing: a very expensive car for rich people. However, the two cars actually serve very different purposes. A Rolls-Royce is a car for you to be chauffeured around in, while a Bentley is a driver’s car.

Bentley has a long tradition of racing heritage going back to the company’s founding in 1919. Bentleys won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race five times between 1924 and 1930. Facing bankruptcy during the Great Depression, Bentley was acquired by Rolls-Royce in 1931.

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2013 Ferrari F12berlinetta

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Ask any non-car person who makes the world’s best sports car and I bet that nine times out of ten, the answer will be “Ferrari.” The Ferrari marketing department has done a great job of building up the brand to be a household name, even among people who aren’t into cars.

Yes, it’s true that Ferraris have six-figure price tags. It’s true that they look great in Rosso Corsa and their flat-plane crank engines produce an angry, high pitched sound. Ferrari does an excellent job of looking like the world’s best cars.

But you know what? They’re really not THAT fast. A new generation of hyper-expensive cars from Pagani, Koenigsegg, Bugatti, Hennessey and others boast more horsepower and faster acceleration than anything in Maranello’s stables.

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1967-1973 Maserati Ghibli

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We’ve covered the DeTomaso Mangusta and the Iso Rivolta S4 Fidia, both of which were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Today we’re going to take a look at another one of Giugario’s creations: the Maserati Ghibli.

First introduced in 1967, the Ghibli is a grand touring coupe that blended power and handling with copious amounts of Italian style. Ghibli is an Arabic word for a hot wind that blows in the Sahara Desert. Why Maserati decided to name a car after that, I have no idea.

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1972 Lamborghini Jarama

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For over five decades, Lamborghini has produced some of the world’s wildest and most iconic cars. The Italian company is known for its angular bodies, outrageous V12 engines, and high price tags. No one would ever call a Lamborghini a “forgettable” car. But there was one model that is often forgotten about – the Jarama.

Here was the problem: in the late 1960s, Lamborghini has these two cars, the Islero (introduced in 1968) and the Espada (also introduced in 1968). The company wanted to sell the Islero in the United States, but it did not meet US DOT safety standards.

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1968-1978 Lamborghini Espada

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When I think about Lamborghini, I think of their most well known creations: the Countach, the Diablo, the Gallardo, and the Murcielago. But it was Lamborghini’s early cars such as the Miura and the Espada that really earned the company its stripes.

The Miura was unveiled in 1966 to great praise, largely due to its beautiful styling. Two years later, Lamborghini had another hit on its hands with the Espada. This was the company’s first 4-seater, and it went on to become their most popular car up until that time. Just over 1,200 Espadas were built during their 10-year production run.

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