Geneva Part III
ERA has Hidden Taillights Under the Trailing Edge
With the Geneva Motor Show just one week away, now is a good time to present our third preview. It starts with this feature car from the IDEA Institute in Turino, Italy. Their ERA concept celebrates 30 years of automotive design and is an update of the version released just last year.
Alongside the V12 Vantage and a rebirth of Lagonda, Aston Martin will have the DBS Volante in Geneva. Unlike the coupe, this cabriolet is a 2+2 with tiny rear seats.
Bentley have finally given up on their Geneva teaser images by releasing the Continental Supersports. Its the firm's most powerful car and flaunts a lightweight interior. These boost the marque's image beyond the luxury segment its usually trapped in.
Zagato in Geneva Part II
Less than 50,000 Euros ($63,524 USD)
Today, Deisgn Zagato announced a new relationship with Perana, a South African performance vehicle manufacturer. This collaboration will result in the Z-One (Zee-One), a sexy two seater that will be unveiled at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
The new Perana mimicks other Zagato designs such as the Maserati GS Zagato Coupe and Diatto Ottovu but with much more aggressive styling traits. Dedicated to reach production, Zagato says the cars will be for sale later this year in July for less than 50,000 euros plus taxes.
Other recent releases for Geneva include the 270 bhp Alfa MiTo GTA and Audi's TT RS. Giugiaro will also present the world's fastest hybrid. With no name or specifics, we are excited to hear more details.
Geneva Part 1
Our first Fab Design feature
Of all the international auto shows, Geneva tends to release the most supercars. The compiled list of debuts is already impressive and will no doubt improve as time gets closer to the show's opening in a few weeks.
We start with some exclusive shots of Fab Design's SLR from Maurizio Maccanelli taken in a remote suburb of Switzerland. Alongside this Coupe in Geneva, Fab Design will probably have their extreme Maybach present aswell.
Maybach themselves have chosen to rekindle their Zeppelin name for a special series of limos. While we wait for Lamborghini's launch, here are the rest of the cars:
Rinspeed iChange
Koenigsegg Quant
Mini Cooper S Cabriolet Works
Maybach 62 Zeppelin
Fab Design SLR McLaren
Porsche 911 GT3
Aston Martin V12 Vantage
Bentley Biofuel Prototype
Rolls-Royce 200EX Concept
Infiniti Essence
Audi's New R15
R15 skipped regular Sebrting test days
Audi has now revealed the first image of their R15 prototype that will debut next month at the Sebring 12 Hour race. After skipping the Sebring test days in favor of private testing, the car was caught finally caught last weekend.
This new P1 prototype is drastically different looking from the outgoing R10 model. The most obvious change is the new wider 'platypus' nose with an aerodynamic air vent on top. At the rear, a smaller wing is fitted to suit new regulations and features curved wing mounts. The front fenders are cut to reveal gills behind the front wheel and help to direct air to engine. The R15 is powered by a heavy and robust diesel V12 in keeping with Audi's continued promotion of oil burners.
At Sebring, Audi will have to worry about both the upcoming Acura ARX-02a and long-time LMS winner Peugeot. This will mark a historic Sebring when three major manufacturers will complete for overall victory-two with entirely new cars.
Chicago Auto Show
Stingray in Chicago
This morning GM launched the Stingray Concept at the Chicago Auto Show. It was developed to play the role of Sideswipe in the upcoming Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen.
Beyond a famous role, this Vette is the next step in Sting Ray evolution. It introduces just as many drastic styling changes as the Mako Shark II XP-830 did in 1965. So much so, some of its design language might get extended to the C7.
Ford's big launch at Chicago included the V6-powered Taurus SHO. Spyker announced the LM85, a special model that optionally sports the C8's Le Mans Livery.
Our new moderator and photographer, Leo Filman, captured these supercars and more for this week's second feature gallery. Also included is the Camaro Black, AMG's full line and Detroit's concept cars.
Retromobile Highlights
The most original Atalante
LeMans aside, the premier classic car event in France is Retromobile. Right now, the 34th edition of the show is currently underway at the Porte de Versailles in Paris.
This year the organizers said more than 300 French and foreign exhibitors will present vehicles, spare parts, publications, rare objects and reduced-size models. They also announced a major highlight, the Tripoli Grand Prix-winning Mercedes Benz W165.
Many of Retromobile's displays involved vehicles for sale and Bonhams played a major role. At the center of their auction was an original Bugatti Type 57S Atalante which brought in 3.4 million euros complete with a guaranteed entry at the Pebble Beach Concours. Also, one of the single most important Bugattis, Black Bess, sold for 2.4 million. More relaxed travel was reserved for this rare Citroen SM Opera-one of eight made. Local auctioneers Artcurial also brought out some fantastic cars including this 1966 DeTomaso Sport 1000 and the Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Speciale.
Our photographers Dirk de Jager and Florian Bernard was kind enough to offer this week's feature gallery. He found some great exhibits including a match pair of Saoutchik-bodied Mercedes and one of five Ruf CTR Lightweights!
V8 Vantage goes V12
V12 sits WAY back in the Vantage
Every supercar enthusiast is supposed to own a V12-powered ride at least once in their lifetime and Aston Martin have just provided another reason to do so. That is, the new V12 Vantage which is set to debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
Shoehorning the V12 into a V8 Vantage chassis isn't new idea. Aston Martin launched the concept Vantage RS two years ago. Now the production version is going be available with the same 510 bhp engine from James Bond's DBS.
While this new Vantage now competes for market share with the DBS, both will be eclipsed by the Aston Martin One-77 later this year. In any case we might see two Astons in our top 10 supercars of 2009.
10 Ferrari 250s You Don't Know
Flip-Front Ferrari? It's the Prototype EW
Ferrari's longest running series is also their most spectacular. Names like Testa Rossa, Spyder California, SWB and GTO have always been at the forefront of Ferrari discussion, so we decided to find the other 250 GTs.
Since the Colombo V12 powered the 250 series for so long, a good number of showcars, customer specials and new bodies were built. Today we focus in on the least known of these, some you probably have never seen before:
1956 Ferrari 250 GT b.Geneve Boano Cabriolet
1960 Ferrari 250 GT Bertone EW Prototype
1966 Ferrari 250 GT NART Spyder
1958 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale
1961 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Aerodinamico
1960 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Speciale
1957 Ferrari 250 GT Coupe Speciale
1959 Ferrari-Chevrolet 250 GT Coupe
1964 Ferrari 250 GT Drogo Berlinetta
1957 Ferrari 250 GT Pinin Farina Coupe Prototipo
