Spring Forward

SPRING IS a magical time for car guys — a time to throw open the garage door and get our dreams back on the road, especially for those of us who live where winters are long and dreary. The tinkering, prepping and waiting of the last few months will soon pay off, with longer days and warmer temperatures inviting you to lower the windows, if not the top. For some of you, spring is a chance to drive a newly restored car for the first time.

I’m particularly excited to get behind the wheel of the Sunbeam Tiger that Hagerty employees have been restoring over the last year. A rare Mk II version, its Hi-Po 289 V-8 is freshly overhauled, and the repaired body and undercarriage have been resprayed in the original Carnival Red. To me, a car like the Tiger offers the best of both worlds — muscle car straight-line performance, with the looks and handling of a European sports car.

There’s a good chance that you’ll get to see and hear our red Tiger if you attend the Amelia Island Concours and some of the other great events in the next few months.

For those who love the sound and feel of a powerful V-8, you’ll probably get a kick out of Colin Comer’s cover story on the GM muscle cars about which you rarely hear: the Buick GSX and Oldsmobile 4-4-2 W30. And if you enjoy the road not taken, there’s John Krewson’s story about cars that were too far ahead of their time to catch on: the Chrysler Airflow, Tucker 48, Chrysler Turbine and GM EV1.

We hope you enjoy these and other articles in Hagerty magazine, and that your first drive of the season is terrific. When it’s safely back in the garage, we’d love it if you’d post a picture of your car and a story about your first drive of the season at hagerty.com/yourstories.

Happy motoring…