By Ben Lobel 

We all love Italian supercars, and for our hedonistic pleasure 764 Lamborghini Miuras were built between 1966 and 1972. The Miura set the trend for mid-engined layout among two-seater high performance sports cars. The 1965 Turin Motor Show revealed only the chassis, but multiple orders were placed despite lack of an actual body. There was no doubt that when brought into existence, this honey’s body would be very fine indeed. Future Lambo stalwart Marcello Gandini ensured the Miura’s resultant physique was a sensation at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show.

If you want to get hold of one of these today, you can be assured that, visually, nothing has gone saggy over the decades; it’s a vintage icon for sure. There is no free love here though – after some brief research, we have found you can get a 1968 Miura P400 for around 295,000 euros (which is about $420,000), or if you fancy the stunning P400S from 1970 this vintage car aristocracy will set you back a mere $586,846.

Bugatti Type 57S

A rare 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante, Coupe, abandoned in a garage in Britain for half a century, was the main attraction of the Bonhams Retromobile auction in Paris where it sold for an incredible 3.4 million euros ($4.4 million). Originally owned by British race car driver Earl Howe Way, the rare supercar (only 17 were produced) had all its original equipment intact including the high-performance engine that could take it up to 130 mph (209 km/h). Bought by a European car collector, the coupe will look stunning after it has been restored.

Ten years ago the buyer probably would have sent this Bugatti in for a megabuck restoration. According to Rob Sass, a vintage-car expert whose writing has appeared in the New York Times and Sports Car Market magazine, a sympathetic mechanicals-only restoration is where it’s at today. “Under the circumstances, restoring the car might well be cause for regret,” notes Sass. It is worth noting that, for the money, the buyer could have bought three Veyrons, or, if he had no use for owning a trifecta of grand touring monstrosities, some sort of small aircraft. Probably.

Aston Martin DB5

Perhaps the definitive vintage car, the Aston Martin DB5 is to James Bond as the Parker 51 is to Basildon Bond. Ian Fleming had placed 007 in a DB Mark III in the novel of Goldfinger, but the DB5, the company’s newest model, was decided on for the film, and we should be thankful. Archive imagery of this suave machine isn’t quite the same without Sean Connery leaning on the famed model, armed with Walther PPK and a critical smile. But he’s surely not critical of the car, despite his trademark indifference when faced with Q’s briefing. While most DB5’s will be devoid of an actual ejector seat, torpedoes, smokescreen etc in their arsenal, presumably this won’t stop vintage car enthusiasts pretending they are present and fully functional. However, some may find there aren’t many more chances to wage war on Gert Frobe, with the DB5 surely set to continue accelerating in price where available. The car used in Goldfinger was the original DB5 prototype, with another standard car used in stunts. Two more modified cars were built for publicity tours after the film’s release. In January 2006, one of those cars was auctioned in Arizona for $2,090,000. Later Bond cars would fail to capture the imagination in quite the same way.