Contemporary Sports Cars at Keenland

The Sports Contemporary class at the 10th Annual Keenland Concours d'Elegance featured those sports cars manufactured between 1967 and 1999. There were a lot of great sports cars built during that time and the Concours choose some excellent examples such as this rare 1981 BMW M1. This was the car that BMW built to compete in the super car category against the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini.

When Porsche decided in 1965 to finally replace its highly successful 356 they did so with the first of the 911 models and put a flat, air cooled six cylinder engine in it. But then in 1968 they came out with the 911 Coupe that featured the tried and true flat four cylinder boxer engine that was perfected in the 356. This car was lighter and had a better front to rear weight distribution.

Lancia was an Italian firm that didn't have much penetration into the North American market. In 1976 they had a fairly successful car called the Montecarlo but since that name was being used in the USA the models that they exported were dubbed as Scorpians. This is a beautiful example of this four cylinder car that could approach 120 miles per hour.

Austin Healey had a very successful run with its 3000 series cars. Near the end of its run in 1967 about 500 of the Mark III models were painted this Metallic Golden Beige. This matching number example has been verified by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust.

In 1969 Datsun decided to export a new sports car to the USA. Called the 240Z, it was an instant success and has spawned a long line of highly successful cars. This unique orange 240Z was released in 1972.

1984 was the year that Porsche reintroduced the Cararra nameplate to its 911 line. With it came a lot of other upgrades including a brand new 3.2 liter six cylinder boxer that pumped out 200 horse power and could shoot this Targa model up to 186 miles per hour.

The Spitfire was one of the most famous defenders of the sky during the Battle of Britain. So in 1976 when Triumph wanted to name a new sports car model, they chose the name of that nimble World War II airplane. This Spitfire sports a 1500 cc four cylinder that can push it to 110 miles per hour.

When Enzo Ferrari refused to sell his company to Ford, the Detroit giant decided to go after them on both the race track and in the market place. Teaming up with deTomaso they developed the Pantera. This 1973 L series model sported the massive 351 cubic inch Cleveland V 8 engine that could hurdle this classic down the road at 172 miles per hour.