It's Not Old... It's Vintage

This past weekend Lime Rock Park afforded me the chance to see cars older than myself turn a wheel in anger at their vintage festival.  While the wheels were old and arthritic and vintage racing is much like the NFL Pro-Bowl where everyone shows up but nobody cares who wins, amusement was still had by all.  That being said, race commentary won't be found here, just the sights of a few old warhorses. 

Click for full size and enjoy!

Ebay Finds: Maserati Indy

In the 70s, Maserati really was a company with a full line-up.  By full line-up, I mean they had a supercar, a budget supercar, a GT, and a sedan.  You could have your Italian sex appeal any way you wanted.  While the Bora, Ghibli, lowly Merak, and Quattroporte are all recognized by the everyday enthusiast, it took me a wiki search to appreciate this Ebay find.

The Rich Man's 3-Series

Today is a day that ends in the letter "y" which means an Ebay search is inevitable.  After checking the usual lust worthy subjects, I stumble upon a hallowed mark that has had some rough patches over the years, Maserati.  To my surprise, it isn't the current Gran Turismo or Quattroporte that grabs my attention.  It isn't even the sexy lines of a coupe or cabrio.  It's this:

r3vlimited.com

Ebay Finds

For those that think an Aston Martin DB5 or a Shelby Cobra aren't rare enough, here are two cars from the 50s that would satisfy those extravagant connoisseurs.

Affordable Supercar Series (ASS)

Courtesy Z06zone.com

There are only a few things that a 16 year old boy thinks about on a daily basis.  In no certain order, these thoughts circulate around food, video games, girls'...er..."personalities", and big horsepower numbers.  The car that produced the biggest numbers at a fraction of the cost of most supercars back when I was 16 was the 2002 Corvette Z06.

Affordable Supercar Series: Maserati

It may seem odd to some that the Affordable Supercar Series has yet to cover an Italian marque. Most people do think of that boot-shaped country whenever they hear the word "supercar." Well, there's good reason for such a delay. To tell the truth, very few cars from Italy can be described as both "affordable" and "super." However, we at Flappy Paddle Heads have persevered to find a car more super than a Fiat Panda and more affordable than a Lamborghini Countach.


This is the Maserati Coupe. It was Maserati's re-entry into the United States in 2002 under the ownership of Ferrari. Yes, the same Ferrari that makes your neck hurt every time one flies by in the other direction. This car could also be had as a convertible, or spyder in Italian parlance. The only other options to really consider are a proper 6-speed manual versus a automated single clutch manual called Cambiocorsa and a conventional suspension as opposed to the adaptive Skyhook suspension. I'll give you a minute to digest all that.

Luckily, there was no decision to be made when it came to the engine department. Stuffed in this gorgeous wrapper is a 4.2 liter V8 that produced atleast 385 horsepower and 333 lb-ft of torque. This was enough to catapult this 3700 pound grand tourer to sixty in 4.7 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 13.2 seconds. Even with all that weight, it could still hold on to the skidpad for .88g and be hauled down repeatedly with fade free brakes.

All this performance and sexy understated sheet metal can be bought for as little as $27,000 according to current Ebay prices. My personal choice would be a 2004 Gransport which has a few more horses but a much better sorted set of suspenders. With prices that low, you won't be relegated to boxed wine and Chef Boyardee for a matching Italian dinner.

Specs courtesy of Caranddriver.com
Photo courtesy of netcarshow.com