By the early 1960s, the horsepower wars were in full swing among American automakers. As we discussed earlier this week, Ford’s FE big-block V8 was evolving, Pontiac’s Super Duty 421 was tearing up the strip, and Chrysler’s “Max Wedge” 413 was on the horizon. The 409, famously enshrined in song, was Chevrolet’s ace from 1961 to 1965, when it was phased out by the mighty 3-9-6 porcupine-headed Mark IV V8.
A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:
“Hello Fellow Pantera Fans!
Welcome to the auction for my buddy Jim’s killer ’72 Pantera, chassis #4013. Jim had been looking for a Pantera for a long time, and with my history of owning and restoring many over the years, I was helping in that search. So when this one came up we reviewed it and agreed it was the one he should buy.
Of course, Jim is a perfectionist and loves to drive (usually quite fast!) so 4013, already and incredibly well sorted car, went through a very thorough…”
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CC350 commented on Jim Farley’s 1972 DeTomaso Pantera
“Great project – I would finish it as a road racer, preferably with a legal registration.
I remember Dave Sturdevant from when I was involved with race cars, but it was a casual nod in the pits type of thing.
This reminds me of a similar build that someone brought to the SCCA Runoffs at Road Atlanta in the late 80s. It ran in GT 4 or 5 and had a super complex suspension worked out in it. The party trick that they would do in the pits was to set it up off the ground on only three jack…”
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Jags_in_the_barn commented on No Reserve: 1972 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 Body Shell w/Fiberglass Bodywork & Tube-Frame Chassis
“This car brings back mixed memories, let me explain. I had heard about the new Dodge Daytona coming out so I went to the Dodge dealer to check them out. They had two on the lot, a blue non turbo version and a beautiful black turbo Z. I drove both and fell in love with the turbo Z. Of course I did! I was 19 years old and the car was pretty quick. The salesman told me that I didn’t qualify for the turbo financially, but he could do the non turbo. I had no interest. I told him if I couldn’t…”
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Rotaryrocket commented on No Reserve: Dodge Daytona Turbo Z Concept Car & PPG Indy Pace Car
Welcome to the Weekly Weird and Wonderful, our list of the 10 most notable vehicles to appear on BaT this week in our estimation (along with a few more that we couldn’t bring ourselves to exclude). We are up over 1,000 auctions at the moment, so the vehicles below are just a few dishes out of the all-you-can-eat buffet that is our live auctions page, where you can gorge yourself on even more automotive content once you’re done here.
It’s hard to believe that this is our fourth release of new BaT merch for 2026! A small, dedicated team of BaT staffers has been very busy stocking the Gear Store shelves with fresh new designs, and as you can tell, they are pretty darn good at getting it done. Here are two sporty new items to keep you comfortable indoors and out as the weather warms. Behold, the BaT Performance Hat and Polo!
A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:
“Buy it, drive it, join us a few times a year to stare at each others cars and meet great people. Cool community for a car that is surprisingly easy to drive. My first road trip was Tail of the Dragon in January ‘24 my 16 yr old at the wheel…memories forever”
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Submoose commented on Whipple-Supercharged 2006 Ford GT
“I would argue the GMT800 is one of the best platforms GM has ever made. You just can’t kill them.”
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70_duster commented on No Reserve: 2006 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 Z71 4×4
“Indeed, E46 M3 is one of the best driver’s cars ever made and perfect for a DD.”
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oqzone commented on 25k-Mile 2002 BMW M3 Coupe 6-Speed
A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:
“Thanks yall! My first time ever bidding on this site lol my stomach was a mess but well done @1980308gtsi
Now my kid isn’t going to college thanks to you lol!”
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manwellr commented on 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo
“Nice original car! Not too many still have T3 headlights that haven’t been restored to concours standards, so that says something about the originality.
Regarding the engine, from what I understand, very few 57s had 265s. The engine stamp would be good info to have. As a July built 283 4v, it should be something like T710FC (I had a Baltimore built 57 that predated this by about a week and it’s engine was T703F).”
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smithdj2626 commented on No Reserve: 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-Door Hardtop
“Sometimes I look on BaT and find a listing I was not expecting. First what a beautiful one off car. With an interesting history from the beginning factory special order. It has everything I want from a vintage sports car. GLWTA.”
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JWHBOOMER commented on 1953 Nash-Healey Le Mans Coupe w/Rambler Rebel V8
BaT member mlc brings us this Success Story about the 1993 Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i that he won from Classicspotted in a January 2025 BaT auction; he took delivery of the car in Greece, and used it to run the 2025 Tour de Peloponnese rally before shipping it home:
My wife Jenne and our son Sam won a hard-fought BaT auction for this 1993 Mini Cooper back in January 2025, while I was at work. I’m a car enthusiast and had been looking for a fun classic car for the whole family that wouldn’t break the bank. We all agreed that this car was perfect, except for the fact that it was in Greece…
A few of the comments that stood out to us yesterday:
“I purchased this great car in 1986 while I headed a family company in Calgary, Alberta. I flew to Victoria BC and was met by renowned Gullwing restorer Rudi Koniczek. He was selling the Ferrari which had been “Chunky” Woodward’s, part of a famed department store and ranching family in BC. I had only owned 356s and early 911s, so was nervous about my first V12 Ferrari. We took a lap of Victoria which will be forever etched in my memory. Spectacular car. I drove it to Calgary, right over the…”
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ews51 commented on 1969 Ferrari 365 GT 2+2
“Thanks! This is actually a gift for my brother who lost a ’97 LS400 Blk/Blk to the tin worm years ago. Best car he had ever owned – very excited to win this car!”
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DKSF commented on 30k-Mile 1997 Lexus LS400
“Revel had a model car kit just identical to this 57 nomad when I was building models in the late 60’s early 70’s. Cool car just needs a surf board on top! GLWTA’”
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K51020Ranch commented on 327-Powered 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Nomad
In the history of Mopar performance, the Hemi hogs the spotlight—but Chrysler selected the 413 Max Wedge for their first foray into Super Stock and Factory Experimental drag racing. The “B” engine, with its wedge-shaped combustion chambers, phased out the first-generation FirePower and FireDome hemis in the late 1950s, and as the horsepower wars heated up in the early years of the 1960s, a new high-deck, high-compression version known as the RB (Raised Block) “Max Wedge” was introduced to power the factory Eliminator entries.
WINNER’S ANNOUNCEMENT:
We’re back to announce the winner for our Question of the Week, where our winner will rest on their laurels and accept a $25 credit for a hat or T-shirt from the BaT Gear Store.
This week, we asked: What’s your favorite desert racer?
Thanks to everyone who hucked a nomination into the sandbox! Bill Stroppe’s Baja Bronco and custom-built Bronco dubbed “Big Oly” were mentioned equally this week, so we turned to the thumbs to break the tie. With a cumulative 23 likes as of this writing, the winning nomination is Big Oly! BaT member @Newport_Pagnell was the first to it:
“The king, Big Oly
https://bajabronco.com/bigoly/“
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Newport_Pagnell commented on Question of the Week: What’s Your Favorite Desert Racer?—WINNER’S UPDATE