James May collects cars the way a historian chases primary sources. Horsepower figures and showroom gloss do not interest him. What fills his garage are development mules, barn finds with intact paperwork, and machines that changed engineering without anyone noticing at the time. Every car in the collection has a specific reason for being there.
These are the 15 most fascinating vehicles in it.
15. 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window (ZO6 Package) (Exterior)
Only 199 examples left the factory with the ZO6 package, making this one of the rarest Corvettes ever built — the kind of unbelievable vehicle most collectors never encounter in person. The distinctive split rear window lasted just one model year before visibility complaints killed it. After sitting untouched in a Montana barn since 1975, May opened the trunk and found the original dealer training film — a document showing exactly how salespeople pitched this car when it was new — still inside. That trunk find alone justifies the purchase.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window (ZO6 Package) (Interior)
The 327 cubic inch L84 V8 delivers 360 horsepower into a cabin that mixes racing hardware with luxury details unusual for American cars of this period. May hunted period-correct interior materials through a specialized upholstery archive, tracking down authentic seat fabric with the kind of patience most people reserve for genuinely important things. Every switch clicks and every dial turns exactly as it did when the car left the factory. Nothing has been approximated.
14. 1970 Plymouth Hemicuda Convertible (Exterior)
Just 14 Hemicuda convertibles were ever built, and only four of those came with a four-speed manual — a production number so small it makes this one of the most genuinely scarce American muscle cars in existence. The Plum Crazy purple paint presented its own problem during restoration. May tracked down a retired Chrysler chemist who had kept the original formula, and they mixed batch after batch against a factory color sample until the match was exact. The result is a car wearing a color that no paint shop in the country could have otherwise replicated.
1970 Plymouth Hemicuda Convertible (Interior)
Found in a Wisconsin barn where it sat untouched since 1974, the interior came through in remarkably good condition — no-nonsense gauges, original radio, original heater controls, all intact. The shifter shows just enough wear to confirm that very few people have actually driven this car. May preserved the original controls rather than replacing them, which means the ergonomics remain exactly as Chrysler intended, for better or worse. Black vinyl seats against that psychedelic purple exterior is a combination that should not work as well as it does.
13. 1979 Carrera GT3 (Exterior)
May bought this 1979 Carrera GT3 specifically to challenge owners of modern Porsches who assume the new ones are better in every way. Only 20 right-hand drive GT3s ever reached the UK, and this one still has factory test tags hanging from various components — physical evidence of its former life as a development mule in Porsche’s GT3 program. The sculpted fenders and whale tail spoiler are early aerodynamic solutions that actually solve something rather than just looking the part. May found it in a Sheffield garage where a former Porsche engineer had kept it since new.
1979 Carrera GT3 (Interior)
The 3.6-liter flat-six produces 380 horsepower into a cabin built entirely around the German principle that function justifies every decision. The gauge cluster tells you what matters and omits everything else. Original Recaro seats show almost no wear, and every switch moves with the kind of mechanical precision that makes modern interiors feel assembled rather than engineered. This is what a working tool feels like when it has been made properly.
12. 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE (Exterior)
When Jeremy Clarkson publicly called this the worst Ferrari ever made, most collectors moved on. May bought one. The understated styling passes unnoticed by people who only recognize Ferraris from posters, which is part of the appeal. This specific car served as a development mule for Ferrari’s first air conditioning system, and restoration consumed two years of May’s life tracking down parts for a car the market had largely forgotten. It is exactly the kind of purchase that makes sense only if engineering history matters more than perceived prestige.
1963 Ferrari 250 GTE (Interior)
The 3.0-liter Colombo V12 produces 240 horsepower and a sound that no modern engine reproduces, delivered through a cabin of leather and a classic wooden Nardi steering wheel that carries six decades of hand oils in its grain. Service records from Enzo Ferrari’s personal mechanic came with the car — documentation of that caliber rarely survives. May kept the experimental air conditioning components despite their limited effectiveness, preserving evidence of the engineering problem this car was built to solve. The history is the point.
11. 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 (Exterior)
The Ford Mustang Boss 429 hides a NASCAR-derived engine under restrained bodywork that gives nothing away to casual observers — one of just 859 built, with fenders widened specifically to fit an engine that had no business in a road car. May acquired it to counter Clarkson’s position that all American muscle cars are rubbish, and this particular example tested Ford’s NASCAR engine package before production began. Found in Arizona where it had sat since 1974, the desert climate preserved the sheet metal in remarkable condition. The understated exterior is doing a significant amount of work.
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429 (Interior)
Ford officially rated the 429 cubic inch V8 at 375 horsepower — a number deliberately understated so buyers could get affordable insurance. Real output sits closer to 500 horsepower, which the paper-thin sound insulation and vinyl seats do nothing to disguise. The oversized tachometer dominates the dashboard because that is the instrument that matters here. Everything inside the Boss 429 serves one purpose, and comfort was not part of the specification.
10. 1959 Bentley S2 Continental (Exterior)
One of only 388 built, this 1959 Bentley S2 Continental was special-ordered with custom picnic tables and an experimental aluminum radiator that cooled its 6.2-liter V8 more efficiently than the copper units standard to the period. The body stretches nearly 18 feet, hand-formed by craftsmen whose work left visible panel marks in certain light — fingerprints pressed permanently into the metal. Luxury in 1959 meant decisions made by hand and materials chosen by eye, and the S2 Continental is the clearest surviving evidence of what that looked like at the highest level.
1959 Bentley S2 Continental (Interior)
Seventeen different types of wood line the cabin, each piece selected individually, in a vehicle that also tested Rolls-Royce’s first aluminum radiator design and generates about 200 horsepower from a three-ton body built entirely for the act of arriving rather than the act of hurrying. The materials were chosen with the same attention a jeweler applies to gemstones, and the result makes modern luxury cars feel like they were assembled from a catalogue. Sitting inside the S2 Continental is not a driving experience. It is a membership in something that no longer exists.
9. 1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 (Exterior)
While every other American manufacturer was producing chrome-laden land yachts in 1963, Studebaker produced this — a fiberglass-bodied, supercharged coupe with no traditional grille, one of just 46 R2 models built with a factory supercharged engine and four-speed manual. Originally ordered by a California aerospace engineer, it captures the precise moment when American car design briefly went space-age before returning to normal. Found in a Palm Springs garage where it had been since 1975, the preservation was remarkable. This car requires no modifications to look like it arrived from a different decade entirely.
1963 Studebaker Avanti R2 (Interior)
The supercharged 289 cubic inch V8 produces 289 horsepower — a number that matches the displacement, which is a coincidence May clearly appreciates — and this specific car ran 168 mph at Bonneville, which was a terrifying achievement given what 1960s brakes were capable of. The aircraft-inspired interior uses a padded dashboard, central console, bucket seats, and electroluminescent lighting instead of bulbs, none of which appeared in mainstream American cars for years afterward. Studebaker designed the Avanti’s interior as if the rest of Detroit’s aesthetic decisions simply did not apply to them. They were right.
8. 1985 Ferrari 308 GTB QV (Exterior)
Carbureted rather than fuel-injected, the 1985 Ferrari 308 GTB QV delivers a throttle response and mechanical directness that modern engine management systems eliminate rather than replicate. QV stands for Quattrovalvole — four valves per cylinder — which is Italian engineering for finding more airflow in a package that already worked. Found with just 12,000 miles on it, this car was barely run in. Factory test sheets confirmed it produces seven more horsepower than the standard specification, and yes, it is Magnum P.I.’s car, which has nothing to do with why May owns it but everything to do with why everyone asks.
1985 Ferrari 308 GTB QV (Interior)
The 2.9-liter V8 produces 240 horsepower from a position six inches off the ground with no electronic systems standing between the driver and the consequences of poor decisions. Originally owned by a Swiss banker who apparently had better priorities than actually driving it, the leather looks nearly new. The gated shifter makes selecting a gear feel like a deliberate mechanical act rather than a suggestion. Analog gauges report exactly what is happening, and nothing in this cockpit offers a notification, an update, or a rerouting suggestion.
7. 1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint (Exterior)
The world’s first mass-produced 16-valve engine lives inside what looks, from the outside, like a completely ordinary British family sedan. This specific car served as a development mule for British Leyland’s racing program, carrying an experimental aluminum cylinder head and competition-spec Weber carburetors under bodywork that communicates nothing unusual whatsoever. The vehicles you’ve never seen before often look exactly like this — significant engineering hiding inside unremarkable sheet metal. May found it in a Birmingham lockup where a former British Leyland engineer had kept it since 1980.
1977 Triumph Dolomite Sprint (Interior)
The 2.0-liter 16-valve engine makes 127 horsepower — a number that sounds modest until you consider that this technology is the direct ancestor of every modern high-revving four-cylinder engine in production. May preserved certain manufacturing imperfections during restoration rather than correcting them, keeping the slightly misaligned panels and British Leyland-era compromises as historical evidence of how the car was actually built. The wood-veneer dashboard is exactly what it looks like. Every quirk is factory authentic, and that is entirely the point.
6. 1969 Lamborghini Espada (Exterior)
The 1969 Lamborghini Espada solved a problem no other supercar bothered addressing — V12 performance for four adults with luggage, in a Series 1 body of which just 176 were built. Originally owned by an Italian philosophy professor, found in Milan, this car prioritized crossing Europe quickly with passengers rather than arriving alone. The nearly flat roofline and vast glass area produce a design that looks wrong in photographs and correct in person. May owns it because the engineering question it answers is genuinely interesting, not because it is the most obvious Lamborghini to have.
1969 Lamborghini Espada (Interior)
The 4.0-liter V12 produces 325 horsepower into a cabin that genuinely seats four adults — which is a remarkable engineering achievement in a Lamborghini of any era. This particular car tested Lamborghini’s first air conditioning system, and the wooden dashboard carries enough gauges to suggest the designers were not entirely certain what information a driver might need. Six Weber carburetors require individual tuning and constant attention, a maintenance reality May handles personally. The Espada rewards that investment with a sound and a driving experience that four-seat Lamborghinis have not delivered since.
5. 1973 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 (Exterior)
European-specification Alfa Romeos received higher compression, lighter panels, and sharper calibration than the export versions sold to American and British buyers — and this 1973 GTV 2000 is the European car, the one Italians kept for themselves. May rescued it from a Florence workshop where it had been under restoration for 15 years. This car also tested Alfa’s experimental electronic ignition system, a technology now standard on every production vehicle. The compact body demonstrates what Italian engineers accomplished with less material than their competitors considered adequate.
1973 Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 (Interior)
The 2.0-liter twin-cam engine sends 130 horsepower through a chassis balanced with a precision that drivers feel immediately, originally owned by a Rome orchestra conductor who clearly understood what mechanical harmony felt like before he got in the car. A wood-rimmed steering wheel and uncluttered instruments focus attention entirely on the road rather than the dashboard. Nothing electronic interrupts the connection between driver and machine. The GTV 2000 makes the case that Italian engineers in 1973 understood what a driver actually needed better than most manufacturers understand it today.
4. 1968 Ford GT40 MK3 (Exterior)
Just seven road-legal GT40s ever left the factory, and this MK3 served as the development mule for a Ford road car program that was ultimately shelved — making it a vehicle that technically should not exist. The body sits 40 inches off the ground, hence the name, with raised headlights and extra cooling vents that distinguish the road version from the race cars that humiliated Ferrari at Le Mans. May spent four years restoring it. Street-legal modifications are present, but this car carries the DNA of one of the most significant motorsport programs in history.
1968 Ford GT40 MK3 (Interior)
The 289 cubic inch V8 produces 306 horsepower in road trim — tamer than the race version, still enough to make the experience genuinely demanding. The cabin includes the experimental air conditioning system developed specifically for road use, which functions at a level May diplomatically describes as aspirational. Getting inside requires a physical commitment that modern car buyers are not prepared for. May calls this car “The one that almost wasn’t,” which captures Ford’s extended hesitation about building road versions of a Le Mans prototype accurately enough.
3. 1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III (Exterior)
One of just 12 built with experimental aluminum body panels, this 1963 Silver Cloud III was originally ordered by a British lord and includes 26 unique features not found on standard production models. The weight reduction from aluminum preserves the imposing visual presence while improving the performance of a car that was never designed to be fast. Hand-formed curves require viewing from multiple angles to fully understand what the craftsmen achieved. Restoration required tracking down the son of the original wood craftsman — a search that proved harder than it should have been and took longer than May expected.
1963 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III (Interior)
The 6.2-liter V8 moves a substantial vehicle with authority that its size does not suggest, into a cabin featuring a bespoke drinks cabinet with crystal decanters monogrammed with the original owner’s initials, custom seat piping, and lambswool carpets thick enough to lose things in. May preserved these interior specifications during restoration rather than standardizing them. Every control operates with precise mechanical action from craftsmen who treated “handmade” as a technical standard rather than a marketing phrase. The Silver Cloud III interior exists at a level of bespoke specification that no production car has matched since.
2. 1957 BMW 507 (Exterior)
BMW used this exact 507 for press events in 1957, handing it to Europe’s most demanding automotive journalists and trusting that the hand-formed aluminum body would do the rest. One of just 252 built, it was found in Switzerland where it had been stored since 1975. Restoration consumed five years, required skills from multiple specialist craftsmen, and produced results that justify every hour. The 507 is the car that proves BMW’s engineering philosophy has always been about demanding the driver’s full attention and rewarding it in kind.
1957 BMW 507 (Interior)
The 3.2-liter V8 produces 150 horsepower with a sound May describes as “mechanical jazz,” delivered through a cockpit with no distractions, no cup holders, and no power steering — the last point meaning that parking the 507 is a genuine physical exercise. May consulted three different tanneries to recreate the original leather pattern from a deteriorated sample, because approximating it was not acceptable. The large steering wheel, simple instruments, and total absence of electronic assistance communicate the same thing clearly: this car requires your complete attention, and it will tell you immediately when it does not have it.
1. 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC (Exterior)
One of just three built with experimental sound insulation and air conditioning, this 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC was originally ordered by an Italian industrialist who wanted V12 performance without sacrificing the ability to arrive in comfort — a specification Ferrari’s engineers treated as a contradiction worth solving. The Pininfarina-designed body combines sporting intent with genuine elegance, and May spent three years sourcing the correct rosso shade from original Ferrari archive samples, mixing against factory references until the color was exactly right. This car sits at number one because it represents the specific intersection of history, rarity, and engineering curiosity that defines May’s entire collection.
1967 Ferrari 330 GTC (Interior)
The 4.0-liter Colombo V12 delivers 300 horsepower with a sound that makes modern engines seem like a different category of object entirely, into a cabin where the factory test driver’s notes complained the car was “too comfortable for a proper Ferrari” — which may be the most Italian criticism ever committed to paper. May preserved the leather rather than restoring it, keeping six decades of careful use visible in the patina. A wood-rimmed steering wheel frames simple gauges with no digital layer between the driver and the information. This car was built for the pleasure of driving on winding Italian roads, and everything about it still communicates exactly that.
