#CollectorCars
Rare Rides: The 1986 Rover SD1 Vanden Plas, Style, Luxury, and Utmost Quality
We’ve featured exactly two Rover vehicles in this series so far, which were the predecessor and successor of today’s SD1. Like the P6 before it and the 800 series after, the SD1 was the flagship executive car in Rover’s lineup.
Rare Rides: An Extremely Rare Isdera Imperator 108i From 1991
You might recall Rare Rides featured an Isdera not long ago, a silver Spyder 036i from 1991. Today we return to the exclusive German marque to learn about their flagship sports coupe.
Let’s check out the Imperator.
Rare Rides: The Intensely Stylish 1988 Lincoln Mark VII Bill Blass Edition
It seems like we talk about personal luxury often here at Rare Rides, not that the topic could ever be discussed too much. Even though we discussed personal luxury just days ago via the Chrysler LeBaron, we’re back with more PLC today.
Let’s check out the 1988 Lincoln Continental Mark VII, in fashionable Bill Blass trim.
Rare Rides: Luxurious and Stylish, a Peugeot 504 Cabriolet From 1975
Rare Rides featured the no-nonsense sedan version of the 504 some time ago, an example which was the same model year as today’s cabriolet. But while the sedan 504 was targeted to the no-nonsense family car buyer, the cabriolet was considerably more upmarket.
Come along as we learn some more about the most exciting version of Peugeot’s long-lived 504.
Rare Rides: A Trio of 1965 Aston Martin DB5s, a Complete Collection
We’ve featured several Aston Martins on Rare Rides previously, but have never covered its most recognizable car: the DB5. Designed in Italy, the DB5 was an instant collector’s item when it starred as James Bond’s ride in Goldfinger.
Today’s collection includes all three different DB5 body styles, each rarer than the last.
Rare Rides: The Very Obscure DKW Schnellaster Elektro-Wagon
Recently Rare Rides featured a very clean example of the DKW Schnellaster van from 1956. The front-drive and transverse-engine layout of the Schnellaster previewed in the Forties the basic format of the family minivan that would arrive over three decades later.
Among the standard Schnellasters produced, there was an even rarer variant: An electric version, as DKW experimented with the possibilities of early EV tech.
Rare Rides: A Pristine Ford Escort From 1985 is Your Squire, M'Lady
The Rare Rides series has touched on the Ford Escort a couple of times before, via the sporty EXP and extra sporty Mercury Tracer LTS. And we’re back with more Escort today! This one carries no sporting pretense whatsoever, and unlike the prior two actually wears an Escort badge.
It’s an early wagon with the seldom-selected Squire package.
Rare Rides: A 1956 DKW Schnellaster, Very Old Van Time
Rare Rides has featured a DKW vehicle only once previously, in a little Brazilian-made version of the mass-market 3=6 wagon. Today’s DKW van also occasionally wore 3=6 badging, but was known as a Schnellaster or F89 L.
Rare Rides: The 1971 International Harvester Travelall, Adversary to Suburban
Today’s Rare Ride hails from the alternative to the Detroit Three: International Harvester. The company catered mostly to a farm-truck audience and was never a full-line manufacturer, but made some inroads with the family utility buyer with its Travelall.
Rare Rides: The 1989 Saab 900 SPG, It's Sporty, Personal, and Good
Today we return once more to the Saab 900. You may recall our first featured 900, a very early green on green example from 1979. Today’s refreshed and sportified 900 is substantially different from its older brother to warrant another look.
Rare Rides: The 2021 ISO Rivolta GTZ, by Zagato
Today’s Rare Ride marks the seventh Zagato design featured in this series, and the first ISO Rivolta. A very limited-production coupe, the lovely green GTZ seen here is available only by special order, and only 19 will ever exist.
Rare Rides: The 2008 Cool Hydra Spyder, a Stylish Boat Car for the Discerning
Today’s Rare Ride marks the first time we’ve featured an amphibious car in this series. It goes on land and on the water and ensures its owner looks very cool wherever they are.
And you can hardly tell it’s a boat!
Rare Rides: The Superbly Rare 1963 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide
Rare Rides has featured a couple of fine Lagonda sedans previously. First was the 1980s rectangle designed by William Towns, which miraculously remained in production from 1976 to 1990. Next was the Lagonda Taraf, a super sedan intended only for the oil-flush UAE market.
Today we bring you the genesis of the Aston Martin Lagonda sedan line, the Rapide.
Rare Rides: An Utterly Pristine 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier Wagon
We featured the predecessor to General Motors’ J-body last week in the Pontiac Sunbird, which was replaced by the J-body J2000 in 1982. But the Cavalier was always the star of the J-body show; the one everyone thought to buy.
Today we feature an immaculate wagon from Cavalier’s second generation.
Rare Rides: A 1976 Pontiac Sunbird, Practical Malaise Luxury
Today’s Rare Ride marks the third time we’ve featured a Pontiac Sunbird in this series. The first Sunbird was from 1978 and presented itself as the Safari Wagon. But that was just a renamed Astre and not a real Sunbird. The second Sunbird we saw was a convertible with a 2000 in its name, a J-body from a time of naming turmoil at Pontiac.
In contrast, the Sunbird we have here is the original: An economical and optionally luxurious car that debuted in the Seventies without a confused identity. Your author’s never seen one in real life.
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