1953 Super Cars
Alfa Romeo C52 Disco Volante
A spider and a coupe body style were built. Two units were built, one normal and one with slim side-panels. Aerodynamic features were studied with great attention, but this car wasnt ever mass-produced.......
Allard JR
This 1953 Allard JR Cadillac Le Mans Roadster is chassis number 3403 (NLN 650) and is one of seven JRs constructed. It was raced at LeMans where it was piloted by Zora Arkus-Duntov. After LeMans, it was sent to America with General Curtis LeMay and......
Allard K3
Sydney Allard introduced his K-3 at the 1952 London Motor Show. The elegant body sat atop a twin-tube steel chassis that had a wheelbase of 100 inches. The front axle was a semi-independent swing axle configuration with a DeDion rear axle and inboard-mounted......
Allard Palm Beach
The shop of Sydney Allard, at 2428 Chapman High Street in London, produced this Allard 21C Palm Beach Roadster. The Palm Beach models employ a 12-volt Lucas electrical system, 13 x 6.4 wheels, Allards traditional swing axle front suspension, and Girling......
Arnolt MG
This Arnolt-MG has been given a nut-and-bolt restoration with period-correct details. It has the correct Shorrock supercharger, correct Marchal lighting, and new Borrani Alloy wheels. Inside is Connolly leather with wool carpeting.......
Aston Martin DB2
The DB2 was announced in April of 1950 to coincide with the New York Auto Show. Sales of about 100 cars resulted from the 1950 New York Auto Show, which helped give the company financial security in the post-War Era. This DB2 Vantage Drophead Coupe......
Aston Martin DB3S
Just 30 (possibly 31) DB3Ss were built, and 10 (possibly 11) of these were works cars, including this early chassis DB3S4 with its original egg-crate grille. Later cars had smaller grilles and faired-in headlights. This car first raced at LeMans in......
Atlas-Allied Swallow
The Atlas-Allied car company in Los Angeles was one of a vast number of specialist car makers that sprang up in postwar America. The Allied Swallow is based on the Cisitalia 202 coupe, one of the most iconic Italian sports cars of the 1950s. The first......
Atlas-Allied V8 Special
The Atlas Fiber-Glass company was founded by Roy Kinch and Mickey Thompson. The company built roadster and coupe bodies. The mold for the body was sourced from a Cisitalia 202 Grand Sport. Initially, it was built to rest upon an MG TC and MG TD chassis.......
Bentley Light Six
The Bentley name first appeared at the 1919 London Auto Show, a product of W.O. Bentley, a well-known importer of D.F.P. automobiles. Bentley had pioneered the aluminum pistons for automotive and aviation engines, and a designer of the rotary aircraft......
Bentley R-Type
After World War II Rolls-Royce resumed car production with the Bentley Mark VI with modifications (larger engine and boot) evolved into the R-Type. Departing from the custom coach bodies of the pre-war era, the first post World War II Bentley cars were......
Bosley Mark I GT
A horticulturist by trade, Richard Bosley was a sports car enthusiast deeply involved in the burgeoning motorsports world during the 1950s and 1960s. In the mid-1950s, Richard Bosley of Mentor, Ohio, created the Bosley MK1. He had a passion for automobiles......
Chrysler Tank Car
This 1953 Chrysler Tank Car, once known as the Blastolene Special, is powered by a 28.4-liter (1792 cubic inches) Continental-designed engine designed for a 120,000-pound M47 Patton Tank. It has been given twin turbochargers which boost the 800 hp stock......
Cunningham C3
Buoyed by the success of his race team at the 1950 running of the Le Mans 24 hours, Briggs Cunningham turned to crafting his own sportsracing cars. A Chrysler 331 Hemi fitted with Zenith down-draft carburetors pushed 235 horsepower through a semi-auto......
Cunningham C5R
In the 1950s Briggs began focusing on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a grueling and very prestigious race. The way he wanted to conquer this race was with a formula that had never been done before - using an all-American racing team. American drivers and......
Delahaye 135M
The Great Depression was a difficult time and it forced Delage to liquidate its assets in 1935. The company was acquired by Delage dealer Walter Watney who recognized that design, development, engineering, and manufacturing were expensive. So he joined......
Delahaye 235M
Delahaye built the first 235 chassis in 1951 in conjunction with French design engineer Philippe Charbonneaux and it featured a six-cylinder 3.5-liter engine that gave the car a top speed of over 100 mph. It was marketed as a luxurious and fast touring......
Delahaye Type 178
Ranked among the most sophisticated automobiles of their time, Delahayes were the preferred choice of many period concours delegance participants who would have couture gowns specially made to match the custom coachwork of their vehicles for a dramatic......
Dodge Storm Z-250
In the early 1950s, Fred Zeder Jr. had an engineering degree and was working in New York doing advertising work as vice president of McCann-Erickson. He was the son of Frederick Zeder of The Three Musketeers (the three famous Studebaker engineers who......
Ferrari 166 MM
The 166MMs were a powerful, reliable and competitive automobile. Their historic accomplishments are legendary and their designs are elegant, beautiful and breathtaking. The 166 MM Series II was aimed at the popular under-2 Liter racing class. Its......
Ferrari 166/250 MM Abarth
The Ferrari 166 MM53 Abarth Spyder finished in silver carries chassis number 0262M. It was constructed on March 14th of 1953 and is a right-hand drive vehicle. For reasons unknown, the Abarth body was removed and replaced with coachwork by Scaglietti.......
Ferrari 212 Inter
The Ferrari 212 Series was produced between 1951 and 1953 and was powered by the Colombo V-12 power-plant. The cars were immediately successful in competition, with victories in both the Tour of Sicily and the Coppa Inter Europa. Perhaps the most important......
Ferrari 250 MM
The Ferrari 250 MM Berlinetta, driven by Giovanni Bracco, was the fastest Ferrari at the 1952 Carrera Panamericana. This prompted a young Mexican driver, Efrain Ruiz Echeverria, to order his own 250 MM Berlinetta (0352MM) from Ferrari in 1953 as a replacement......
Ferrari 340 MM
The Ferrari 340 and 375 MM were produced in 1953. The engine was an Aurelio Lampredi designed, naturally aspirated, 4.5 liter V12. The cylinder block and heads were cast from light alloy, a metal that was strong but lightweight. The Lampredi engine,......
Ferrari 340/375 MM
The Ferrari 340 and 375 MM were produced in 1953. The engine was an Aurelio Lampredi designed, naturally aspirated, 4.5 liter V12. The cylinder block and heads were cast from light alloy, a metal that was strong but lightweight. The Lampredi engine,......
Ferrari 342 America Speciale
The Ferrari 342 America was one of Ferraris most exclusive production series each car was finished to a customers specific order. Just six were built in total, three coupes and two cabriolets by Pinin Farina, and one cabriolet by Vignale. This first......
Ferrari 375 America
This Ferrari 375 America is a left hand drive coupe created by Vignale. It was a Paris show car in 1953 and since then has been owned by various individuals, including the legendary actor and racer, Steve McQueen. It was originally finished in Ferrari......
Ferrari 375 MM
Ferrari 375 MM Pininfarina Spyder with chassis number 0372AM was created in December of 1953. It was owned by Briggs Cunningham who had it raced in competition during the 1954 season. It made its debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring where it was piloted......
Ferrari 500 F2
The most dominant car throughout the first couple of seasons of the Formula One World Championship had been Alfa Romeos 158 and 159. Over the course of 1950 and 1951, the two chassis types had been able to rack up an incredible record of nine-straight......
Fiat 205A 1100 Sport
This Abarth 205A 1100 Sport was shown at the 1953 Turin Salon. It appeared on the Ghia stand alongside the similar Dodge Firearrow that Ghia had previously built for Chrysler. The body design is thought to be the work of Giovanni Michelotti with heavy......
Fiat Stanguellini
This vehicle was designed by Scaglione and built by Bertone. It is a one-off prototype built atop a Fiat chassis and powered by a Stanguellini 1100cc engine. The goal was to produce a limited run of these Fiat Stanguellinis. This is one of nine built,......
Glasspar G2
In 1946, William Tritt was approached by his friend John Green, who asked him to build a boat from a still novel new material called Fiberglas, first invented in 1938. Tritt quickly embraced the glass fiber material for boat construction, and by 1950,......
Hudson Hornet
This 1953 Hudson Hornet Twin H-Power Sedan is very special and has a very distinguished racing career. It was known affectionately as the Satan of Morimar. The Hudson marque had a proud racing heritage most notable in the post-war era when it......
Kurtis 500B
Commissioned by Andy Granatelli for driver Freddie Agabashian to run in the 1953 Indy 500 this car, chassis number 363, was a contender for the outright victory, and one of the fastest cars at the speedway that year.Weighing in at only 1800 lb, sitting......
Kurtis Kraft 500S
Frank Kurtiss infatuation with automobiles began at an early age. His father owned a blacksmith shop located in Pueblo, Colorado, that repaired automobiles and horse-and-buggy. The family later moved to Los Angeles, CA, where Frank got a job working......
Maserati A6G-2000
The engine used in this car was a larger version of the A6 1500 while still retaining the light alloy crankcase. The body was built by Pininfarina, Frua, Ghia and Bertone.......
Maserati A6GCS/53
- The very first A6GCS - assembled April, 1953- Extensively featured in Maserati Sports, Racing and GT Cars from 1926 by Crump %26 Box- Factory Team Car for Emilio Giletti- Raced in Mille Miglia April 25-26, 1953. GilettiBertocchi - 1st class,......
Muntz Road Jet
This 1953 Muntz Road Jet has chassis number 53-525 and is powered by a 318 cubic-inch Lincoln V8 that produces a little over 200 horsepower. There is a four-speed Hydra-Matic Automatic gearbox and an independent front suspension, and a live rear axle.......
OSCA MT4
Maserati had become one of the most profitable and successful family ventures as the brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Ettore and Ernesto established their automotive manufacturing company. Unfortunately, the death of Alfieri and the might of Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz......
Pegaso Z102
The Pegaso Z102 stole the show at the Paris and Turin Auto Shows in 1951. Spains first new car of the postwar era, the Pegaso was essentially a racing car adapted for road use. The heart of this exotic GT car was a 2.5-liter quad-cam V8 engine, the......
Pontiac Parisienne Concept
This Pontiac dream car came from Harley Earl and his spirited team of stylists at the GM styling department.This car was first shown at the General Motors Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1953, along with many of the other General Motors......
Porsche 550
By the early fifties, Porsche found that modified production cars could no longer win races. The Gmund coupes had earned accolades for the Porsche marque, along with Franfort VW distributor and other friend of the house of Porsche. Walter Glockler had......
Siata 208 S
Designed by Michelotti and built by Bertone in 1953, the Siata (Chassis #523) was equipped with the Fiat 8V kit including 2-liter engine, 4-speed transmission, and independent suspension. Its stunning clean design provided many styling cues seen in......
Siata 208CS
Siata (Societa Italiana Applicazioni Trasformazioni Automobilistiche) specialized in aftermarket products for Fiats, the company used its knowledge and expertise to launch the first Siata-badged, Fiat-based car in 1948. Around sixty chassis were built......
Sorrell SR-100
Bob Sorrell was a talented automobile designer, fabricator, and builder. Together with his father, Sorrell Engineering of Inglewood, California, created many hand-built, one-off bodies for both street and competition cars during the 1950s and 1960s.......
Swandean Spitfire Special
In the post-War era, there was a brief period of surplus aircraft and tank engines. Several found their way into race cars. Most were under 20 liters, but a few were above the magical 20-liter mark. The cars fitted with these engines were very powerful,......