Fascination
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At the 2010 edition of the Louisville Concours d\’Elegance, two vehicles greeted everyone entering the infield. One was a Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640.
The other? This ultra-rare Fascination. The two-door oddball was the brainchild of Paul M. Lewis, who dreamed up the propeller-driven Airomobile back in 1937. Only five were ever built, and all of them are still around today.
This one, the second of the five, is able to make a full 180 with help from its Renault-sourced four-pot. It\’s a wild ride, to be sure.
1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing
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The featured photo of this story, y\’all! In 2011, this Mercedes Gullwing not only took part in the Louisville Concours fashion show, but also took home the Featured Marquee Mercedes-Benz 1945-1971 prize.
And why would it not? This black beauty is an excellent example of one of the most iconic machines in motoring. While the roadster variant wound up forging the path for the SL-Class, it\’s outclassed by the gullwing doors of the coupe, a feature companies like Bricklin, DeLorean, Tesla, Pagani, even Cessna, used on their creations later on.
Mercedes itself would revisit the gullwing with its 2010-14 SLS AMG. I hope it\’ll do so once again soon. Perhaps through the EQ sub-brand?
1960 Ariel Leader Touring
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The name Ariel should be familiar to some of you, as they\’re the company who gave us the open two-seater Atom (built under license a couple of hours away from yours truly at Virginia International Raceway, by the way).
Before the Atom, though, Ariel was a motorcycle company, releasing lovely rides like this Leader Touring. By the time this example was assembled, though, Ariel was seven years away from closing its doors due to the company\’s mishandling by gun manufacturer BSA.
While Ariel today is known for four-wheeled insanity, it\’s heartwarming to see its past preserved and shared with the world. Oh! And this example of the past took home the Motorcycles award at the 2011 Louisville Concours, to boot.