January 12, 2012
Courtesy Barrett-Jackson
As any serious car collector can tell you, the place to be in January is Scottsdale, Arizona. Every year the city plays host to the Barrett-Jackson auction—the highlight of the winter auto circuit—where thousands of people gather to see and bid on a treasure trove of historic vehicles. Among last year’s sales: a controversial 1963 Pontiac Bonneville ambulance said to have carried John F. Kennedy’s casket from the Bethesda Naval Hospital to the U.S. Capitol and Sylvester Stallone’s 1956 Ford F-100 pickup.
This year’s auction, running January 15–22, will have its own headliners. Among the not-to-be-missed? A red 1954 Desoto Adventurer II Coupe that originally belonged to King Mohammed V of Morocco and a 1928 Daimler P.1.50 Vee Front Royal Limousine, the largest British car ever built. barrett-jackson.com
April 30, 2013
Photo by Maserati North America
There is a stretch of road in the mountains above Nice that tightly twists and turns as it runs steeply and narrowly uphill. On this foggy morning, the road is what the locals call “slippy” wet, but it’s a route that Maserati’s new 2014 four-door Quattroporte handles with the speed and agility of a drive on a bright, sunny day. The distinctive Italian purr of the 3.8-liter, 524-horsepower turbocharged V-8 engine nicely complements the dynamic bass adjustments of the brilliant British Bowers & Wilkins sound system as it compensates to mask road noise. At high speed loud winds become apparent, though they do prove to be an audible reminder that this car can move from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.6 seconds and has a top speed of 191 miles per hour. Wet pavement was the norm for the day, and the Quattroporte’s Increased Control and Efficiency (ICE) mode was engaged for much of the 260-mile route, while an electronically adjusted suspension system maintained a comfortable ride in the Poltrona Frau–leather interior with its spacious rear seats. The Quattroporte Maserati V-8 starts at $130,000; maserati.com.
