Auction Auction
Bobby Allison's Charger Daytona to sell this Saturday
Even with five significant auctions from last weekend, we still have Mecum's Kissimmee sale before the month is out. Centered on muscle cars, this year is highlighted by Bobby Allison's radically-prepared Dodge Daytona. Among the 700 or so cars, there's an incredible selection from the Hammack Collection. Among these are every performance Pontiac Convertible from 1955 to 1967 including two of the highly sought after 1957 Pontiac Bonneville Convertibles.
Of last weekend's Arizona Auctions, Gooding & Co. took the top sale with their $3,470,000 Jaguar D-Type. They also had several million dollar lots like this 1959 Lister Costin and $2,145,000 for a Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I.
RM Auctions was set to have the best sale of the weekend with the GT90, but it was pulled due to legal reasons. They still achieved some stellar numbers like $429,000 for the 1954 Mercury Monterey XM-800 and $528,000 for a 1933 Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental by Gurney Nutting.
Retromobile 2010
Gullwing, Old and New at Retromobile
With the Monte Carlo Rally, Arizona Auctions and Cavallino Classic held last weekend, Retromobile was just one of several world-class events to choose from. This year our favorite stand was curated by Mercedes-Benz who brought out an SL 300 Prototype in support of the new SLS supercar.
Many of the top tier European dealers were at Retromobile including Hall & Hall, Fiskens and Lukas Huni. Dirk de Jager captured all these stands and more from Europe's premier indoor classic car show.
We also have a page dedicated to the Bonhams auction which had several great cars. The prototype Monteverdi Hai 450 sold for 398,000 Euros and our favorite Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS failed to sell.
2010 Monte Carlo Rally
Mikko Hirvonen on SS3
After 405 km, 15 stages and 3 days, our favorite winter rally is over. Through it all, Mikko Hirvonen drove M-Sport's Ford Fiesta S2000 to victory. He led from start to finish with 1:53 separating him from Juho Hanninen in his Skoda Fabia S2000. They both beat an armada of 10 Peugeots with star drivers Stephane Sarrazin, Sebastian Ogier and Kris Meeke.
Held for the second year by the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC), this new series was more flexible than the WRC and could adopt many of the classic Monte stages like the Col de Turini. The success of the IRC has forced WRC to accommodate S2000 regulations for 2010 including six of the winning M-Sport Ford Fiestas.
Our gallery from the 2010 Monte shows almost all the 63 competitors and many which got very little time on Eurosport like Mathieu Arzeno who placed very well in his Renault Clio R3. This year Eurosport 2 had an unprecedented 14 hours of live coverage from the Monte. The official review will air on Tuesday at 23:00 CET.
Monte Carlo & More
Prodrive Impreza N2010 on the Monte
Last year Subaru retired from WRC but that didn't mean they were out of Rally altogther. Instead, they developed the Impreza WRX STI spec C to homologate new Group N cars. Two of these are currently racing at the 2010 Monte Carlo, one from Tommi Makkinen Racing and the other from Prodrive. It doesn't look like they are in contention to win this year against the S2000-spec competition.
Just a few days ago Shelby announced a new 2011 GT350 on the updated Mustang platform. It pays hommage to the old GT350 and one of these will be up for sale at Gooding & Company's upcoming auction. Their car is the Supercharged prototype which should fetch much more than the regular GT350.
With Retromobile opening this weekend we also have to mention several auction stars which will make the event even more worthwhile. These include the Monteverdi Hai 450 SS, a Zagato-bodied Maserati A6 1500 and one of the best Voisin C14s. With the Arizona Auctions, Retromobile and the Monte Carlo, this will be a busy weekend.
Alfa's 100 begins in Holland
8Cs at Interclassics & Topmobiel
Interclassics & Topmobiel is the first in a series of features we will dedicate to Alfa Romeo's centenary. Last weekend, this classic car show in Maastricht, Netherlands brought together an impressive collection of Alfas including several from the Alfa Romeo Museum.
Dirk de Jager was present in Maastricht to capture the entire display. His gallery has the highly regarded 2900A Botticella Spider, an Alfa Romeo Disco Volante and several early open-wheel cars.
Next weekend Retromobile will open its doors in Paris and one of most unique Alfas will be on offer. Bonhams is selling an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS called the Supergioiello. It has unique frame and body which distinguishes it from the typical Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 production.
Tokyo Auto Salon
Tommy Kaira Ebbrezza-R
With Tokyo Auto Salon's opening day now over, we have some of the first tuned supercars of 2010 to present. Among them is the Tommy Kaira-prepared Nissan GTR which has an outrageous bodykit and minor performance upgrades. They also brought out a pair of Subarus and this Insight 'RR'.
Toyota is said to have saved the show in Mugen's absence. They launched a new brand called G's which stands for G Sports. Among the three prototypes displayed, the Toyota FT-86 G Sports is the best. They also released the IS-F CCS Concept. Although incorrectly attributed to Toyota by both Automobile Magazine and Motor Trend, this GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept isn't an official factory car. Instead, it's a private effort that shoehorns Toyota's hybrid drive line in the MR2.
We finish with the Gemballa MIG-U1 which wasn't at the show, but would fit right in the the many overly-exuberant cars. If anyone has images from the Tokyo Auto Salon, please contact us.
Autosport International
Lotus Evora Cup
The 20th annual Autosport International opens today in Birmingham with a bunch of new racing cars. The most immediate of these is the Lotus Evora Cup which will be contested throughout Europe in a points championship. The car uses the same Toyota V6 as the production version, but it is tuned to produce around 400 bhp.
Another big release is Porsche's new GT3 contender called the 911 GT3 R which we will first see at Silverstone for the opening GT3 rounds. SDR Sportcars also took the opportunity to launch their WRX-powered kit car called the WR3 V-Storm. Lola announced a new variant of their LMP1 racecar called the Lola B10/60 LMP1 Coupe, but it wasn't present at the show.
An extra element to this year's show is an auction by Coys with a wide range of vintage and contemporary racing cars. Among these are two Pipers, one called the 1967 Piper GTT which we have never seen before. With an estimate of £23000 to £25000, it could be quite a steal for an eligible historic racecar.
Detroit's NAIAS
2nd Generation Audi e-tron
After two days of launches, the NAIAS has had some pleasant surprises. The first of these is a second-generation Audi e-tron simply known as the Detroit Showcar. As the concept progresses toward production, the subtly reworked body further distinguishes it from the R8. The e-tron and more highlights are in our feature gallery from Detroit.
Another car from Detroit which better fits the climate is this Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept. It's the obvious direction for Cadillac's next full size car, but this show car has unique details that won't be seen on production versions.
We finish with the Revenge Verde Super Car. It's a stylish, 400 bhp coupe that will get theoretical mileage of 110mpg from its low tolerance V8. If you get more pics of this one from the floor, let us know.
Supercar Mondial 2
Saleen Launches the SMS Camaro at Detroit.
The days after New Years are usually filled with news from the North American International Auto Show which starts today, but there just are just a couple supercar announcements. The first is this SMS Camaro, which is tuned by Steve Saleen to reach 575 bhp. It is on par with GM's production CTS-V Coupe which will also make its first appearance at Detroit.
One of the more interesting releases is Peugeot's SR1 Concept which will debut at the Geneva Show much later this year. This little roadster has the craziest mirrors to appear in a long time. Lee Noble has also started the new year by preparing his Fenix Supercar. Like Superformance, the cars will be built in South Africa.
Alpina announced they are alive and well in America and have prepared an updated version of the Alpina B7 Sedan. Subuaru are also going to begin selling their JDM WRX STi R205. It uses parts developed from the car Subaru fielded at the Nurburgring 24-Hour race.
Most Influencial Supercars of the Decade
Maserati MC12
At the turn of the millennium, the supercar was in a good spot. The internet bubble was making instant millionaires and providing justification for a higher education. Furthermore, cars like the McLaren F1 set the bar tremendously high for the decade ahead.
Once we reached the third millennium, digital photography, Flickr and Youtube made the traditional car mags virtually redundant. Event photography could include EVERY car at a show and revealed new models that didn't previously exist. No longer were we at the whim of a single editor or publication.
The last 10 years has given us some great new design. At the forefront of these are carbon-fiber cars like the Enzo, Carrera GT and SLR. We look forward to the next decade with hope that battery technology will mature and become the propulsion system of choice. Happy New Year from Supercars.net. Here's the top 10 most influential cars of the decade in no particular order:
 Maserati MC12 - There's no secret that the MC12 is based on the same chassis as the Enzo, but it is much more exclusive and elegant then the Ferrari. Furthermore, this model was constantly upgraded for FIAGT. From 2005 onwards, Vitaphone racing switched to a competition version of the MC12 and won the Driver and Teams Championships year after year. Further highlighting the model is a Corse track day special. |
 Bugatti Veyron 16/4 - Despite all the bad press Volkswagen received for the production delays, they finally delivered in 2002 and made most of the skeptics look like fools. The Veyron is a great example of what is possible with unlimited development funds and almost unrealistic goals. Fortunately, the program was a complete success and it is rumored that the dyno at Molsheim reads 1100 bhp regularly. There are too many special editions to list, but we like the Pur Sang best. |
 Porsche Carrera GT - When Porsche do anything they generally get it right -this is especially true of the Carrera GT. Compared to the 911 which has its engine hanging out the wrong end, the GT's bespoke V10 is low and midship. With a manual transmission and a carbon fiber tub, this is a modern equivalent to the McLaren F1. Not much to fault here except the Cayenne ties. Gemballa also turned it into the killer Mirage Evolution |
 Ferrari Enzo - Ferrari stole the 2002 Paris motor show with the Enzo and it was one of Luca di Montezemolo's best moments. Unlike the GTO, F40 and F50, the Enzo was packed with enough technology to make it both a grand tourer and a racer. Ferrari improved the design the the FXX track day special and toured them at the best circuits in the world. |
 Pagani Zonda F-Since the Zonda C12-S was actually released in 1999, we have to use the F for this decade. Named after Fangio, it's a much more decorated version of the already spectacular Zonda. Recently Pagani has released the Cinque and Zonda R in anticipation of an entirely new model. |
 Lamborghini Murcielago - Probably the most badass Lamborghini ever produced. This model was constantly updated, first to the LP640, then to the SV model. Also included with this model range is the Reventon supercar, the first example of in-house coachbuilding from Sant'Agata Bolognese. The RG-T version developed by Reiter Engineering also procured Lamborghini's first international win at the Zhuhai International Circuit. |
 Saleen S7-The S7 was America's best supercar of the decade. Not long after it was released at the Monterey Historic races, the Saleen S7R proved it was ready for the track. In 2005, they twin turbocharged the design and retained the same body. An even rarer version known as the Twin Turbo Competition offered 1000 bhp. |
 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren-Despite an enormous price tag, the SLR was the decade's ultimate grand tourer. It didn't perform on the same level as the other race inspired cars, but it didn't need to. It was completely refined unlike the 300 SLR which Stirling Moss piloted to win the 1955 Mille Miglia. The race version made by RML was surprisingly absent from any sanctioned series, but the final Stirling Moss Edition SLR made up for that loss. |
 Ford GT-The GT was designed somewhat backwards, but managed to prevail. The concept was released at the 2002 Detroit Auto Show and Ford managed to produce a production version three years later. The engineers had the daunting task of making a usable supercar and they succeeded without changing the exterior design. Matech also transformed the car into a championship-winning GT3 contender-not bad for a car built from the bottom up as a visual concept. |
 Koenigsegg CC-We first met Christian von Koenigsegg at the 2000 Paris Auto Show and he said he used Supercars.net to find design inspiration for his own car. We loved the new design but didn't know how far he would go. Little did we know that he would transform the design into one of the decade's success stories. |
