Object of Desire: Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider

Between the more glamorous and powerful Ferrari and Maserati Grand Touring roadsters of the early 60s, and the tiny but affordable Giulietta and Duetto Spiders, the Alfa 2000 Spider seems to have gotten a bit lost in the shadows over the years. It offers the impressive scale and elegance of the more expensive cars at a fraction of the price. And while it's no match for the Ferrari V12, the DOHC Inline 4 of the 2000 Spider still gives a great sound and decent grunt.  Compared to the Duetto or the Giulietta Spider, the Carozzeria Touring-designed 2000 is far more aristocratic and impressive, not to mention roomy. In short I think it's an underrated classic, and one that is pleasing in its relative obscurity.  It's a car I'm not sick of seeing everywhere. This particular example is available at Exotic Classics of Syosset, NY.  The car is mostly original but has been cleaned up here and there over the years giving it a tidy yet lived-in feel. I don't like the chrome Borrani wheels, but those could be easily changed out for the factory wheels.  Exotic Classics does a great job photographing the cars they sell. Click over to see there whole set HERE.

Anyone have 100 Grand I can borrow?

My favorite Mangusta race car, profiled a while back on Automobiliac is suddenly available on ebay!  I want it so badly.

Check it out HERE

Hat tip to Syed.

Update on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 11:41AM by Bradley Price

Auction ended at $92,100 with the reserve unmet.

Can Am Slides: Window to the Past

As a child, I used to love looking at my dad's old Kodak slides on the carousel viewer. In a darkened room, something about the hues and shades of the 1960s on Ektachrome film projected on the wall just seems better than real life. On ebay right now, a seller named Motorbookbroker has some absolutely fantastic medium format color transparencies for sale depicting racing in the mid 1960s.  Most are from Can Am and sports car races, and since they are original slides, if you buy them, you buy the rights to them as well. I'd say that's pretty swell.

I have selected my favorite 8 of them in a gallery HERE for your viewing pleasure. I have no affiliation with the seller and I hope he appreciates the free advertising!

Autodromo - Instruments for Motoring

I've long been a fan of vintage watches and --as this website attests-- a connoisseur of classic cars, so about 2 years I decided it was time to combine those passions, using my professional skills as a designer and branding consultant. The result is the birth of a new driving-oriented brand : Autodromo.

Our launch collection consists of 3 models, inspired by tachometers found in Italian sports cars of the late 60s.  We did our best to bring you the finest quality materials and swiss movements at an attainable pricepoint of $425.

More information can be found on our online shop: Autodromo.com

We also encourage Automobiliac readers to like us on Facebook!

For other bloggers out there, the digital press kit can be downloaded HERE, with tons of luscious images.More images can be found in our Autodromo Gallery HERE

Object of Desire: Seiko SpeedTimer "Bullhead" Chronograph

I love vintage racing chronographs, and this one is actually for sale by yours truly. It's a Seiko Speed Timer, produced in Japan around 1976. This automatic mechanical chronograph works perfectly and features a choice of English or Japanese day indicator. I personally like using the Japanese setting.

The case style is known as a "Bullhead" due to the position of the pushers at the top rather than side of the case. In actual sports usage, I have found this position is far easier to manipulate than a side-mounted configuration. It's also perfect if you take the watch off and hold it in your hand like a stopwatch.

I don't have any banners on this site, so please pardon this shamless plug for my own ebay auction! Sorry about the hairy wrists...