Streamlined BMW offered by RM
This BMW 328 ran the 1940 Mille Miglia
A couple days ago RM announced that a major BMW would be offered at their upcoming auction in Monaco. They were referring to this BMW 328 which has a unique and streamlined body purposely built by BMW for the 1940 Mille Miglia.
Called the Buegelfalte, it is named after the creases running down the fenders. The overall shape is inline with the streamlined Grand Prix cars that Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz prepared for the 1937 Avus Grand Prix. These shapes led automotive design into a new era of sweeping curves.
On May 1st, RM hill host their inaugural Sporting Classics of Monaco sale and offer this stunning BMW. They plan to sell 80 cars during the 7th Grand Prix Historique de Monaco weekend.
3 Amelia Island Stars
1948 Norman E. Timbs Buick Streamliner
With the Amelia Island Concours not too far off, several interesting cars have been announced. One of the big restoration debuts will be this 1948 Norman E. Timbs Streamliner. It has a dramatic streamlined body not far off the prewar record cars from Germany. Mr Timbs designed many winning Daytona race cars back in the day and this roadster was his ideal supercar.
RM Auctions will host the official sale for Amelia. Among 100 or so cars, they will offer the only 1964 Pontiac Banshee also known as Project XP-833. It was Pontiac's answer to the Mustang and borrowed much from the Corvette of the period.
Surprisingly, the stunning Voisin 'Mylord' which won the Amelia Island Concours last year will be offered over the weekend by Gooding & Company. Of the company's entire production, this is probably the most sought after Voisin .
Geneva Preview
Alfa Romeo Pandion by Bertone
With the Geneva Motor Show coming up at the beginning of March, several interesting releases are being announced. One of the most recent is this Alfa Romeo Pandion by Bertone. It's built to celebrate the upcoming Alfa Romeo centennial as is the Alfa Romeo Spider by Pininfarina.
Several companies will launch upgraded models at Geneva like Jaguar with their new Black Pack and Speed Pack XKRs. BMW will have a Competition Package available on a range of models and Porsche will launch their flagship 911 Turbo S. Lotus have completely revamped the Elise for Geneva and we expect the new Exige will come shortly thereafter.
There are many new design concepts which have little-to-no available information probably because they are still being fabricated. These include the I.DE.A. Hybrid, Touring's Bentley Continental Shooting Brake, 2010 Hyundai i-Flow. It's rumored that Ferrari will also bring a concept hybrid driveline for the 599.
2009 Quail Motorsports Gathering
Great Ferraris & Main Stage
One of the hardest Monterey events to attend is the Quail Motorsports Gathering. Its 3000 tickets are almost completely reserved in advance and they sell out in a few hours. For good reason too, since it has impressive cars and catering from the impeccable Quail Lodge.
In 2009, several important cars debuted at the show like the Veyron Grand Sport 'Sang Bleu'. Other special commissions included a Rolls-Royce Drophead with custom appointments for Michael Fux and a unique Ferrari 599. Of all the classes, a ring of Devins was curated especially well and we have a separate page for them.
We took special care to have the definitive Quail gallery. Dirk de Jager flew over the event and captured some unique angles of the whole layout. Without further ado, we strongly recommend you check out the Quail.
Pagani Zonda Tricolore
Tricolor in the Pagani Showroom
Some of the very last Zondas are coming from Pagani before the C9 replaces its production. One of these is this Tricolore special edition which was recently photographed in the factory showroom by our friend Julien Giambagli of Supercarfrance.com. It might become Pagani's ultimate road-going Zonda.
Tricolore is a one-of built for the Spanish importer Guarnieri in Marbella, Spain. Like the Cinque editions that were built for a Hong Kong dealership, the Tricolore has numerous special features including the flappy-paddle gearbox. The car uses tinted carbon fiber for its colored stripes and also has upgrades from both the Cinque and Zonda R.
Today we can present three excellent images of the Tricolore from Pagaini's own showroom in Modena. We hope to get more details once Pagani releases their own information and images.
2010 Chicago Auto Show
Kia unveils the Ray Concept
The 101st Chicago Auto Show opens it doors today with several world premiers. The first of these is Kia's Ray which was made by their design center in Irvine, California. Pics from the launch and all the other highlights are available in this week's gallery by Leo Fliman.
Ford brought out their new aluminum-block GT500, but didn't include it as part of yesterday's press conference. Two Coupes were present but no Convertibles were on the floor.
Other highlights included the Lingenfelter Camaro SS Twin Turbo, Alpina B7 and a crazy proposal for an Indy car from Firestone. Some of the usual autoshow suspects were present like the matte-black LFA, gold Audi R8s and Fisker's pre-production Karmas.
Flagships from Porsche & Ford
Updated Shelby GT500
This week both Ford & Porsche are announching upgraded versions of their seminal sports cars. In Ford's case the iconic Shelby Mustang gets a new aluminum heart. With 550 bhp on tap, the package is nearly ideal except for the live-axle rear suspension and lack of direct fuel injection. The 2011 upgrades benefit both the Coupe and Convertible which are expected to be seen at the Chicago Auto Show in a few days.
Porsche made a major announcement about the return of the Turbo S. The new model has 530 bhp and almost every available performance option. Porsche will also offer a cabriolet version, but it appears production will be limited to Europe.
This new Porsche gives us a chance to feature an older 964 we fell in love with in Monterey. Called the Carrera 4 RS Lightweight, it was a stripped out version of which only 20 were built. Bonhams sold our feature car for 139,000 USD.
Jaguar @ Le Mans
RSR XKR with Le Mans Winners
Jaguar & Rocketsports Racing are proud to announce they will be taking their ALMS-prepared XKR to Le Mans. The new car is built by Rocketsports Racing at their facility in East Lansing, Michigan. It will race in the GT2 class alongside the Corvette ZR1, Ferrari F430, Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche RSR.
Jaguar first went to Le Mans in 1950 with an early version of the XK120 that used an aluminum body. In subsequent years they developed the purpose-built C-Type and D-Types which won the event outright. With their Girling disc brakes, the Jaguars had an advantage over the Ferraris.
A second generation of Jaguar prototypes began with the US-based team Group 44. They started with the XJR-5, but after a number of struggling years were replaced by Tom Walkinshaw's TWR outfit. The result was a resounding success and Jaguar again took the title in 1988 with the Jaguar XJR-9LM. The next chapter of Jaguar's Le Mans story will begin on June 12th & 13th with this year's 78th annual race.
Muscle from Kissimmee
Dodge Daytona 'Test Car'
Last weekend, Mecum held their 15th annual muscle car auction in Kissimmee, Florida. Our local photographer Alex Marks checked out the event for the first time and we can now present an impressive gallery of highlights.
Over four days, Mecum offered around 700 cars including some of the best American muscle. The cover car was Bobby Allison's 1969 test mule which fetched a high bid of $210,000. We also found a pair of rare Berger Camaros and another set of Greenwood Corvette Prototypes. In total they did 25.6 million in sales.
Mecum was also responsible for selling the Hammack Collection which included every Pontiac convertible from 1955 to 1967. These were presented in near-perfect condition including a pair of '57s that fetched around $200,000 each. Glenn and Irv Hammack assembled one the world's best Pontiac collections and most of their work can be found on our dedicated section.
Daytona 24
Action Express Riley/Porsche
After 24 hours of non-stop racing, Action Express Racing has won the Rolex 24 of Daytona. The race started off under wet conditions which probably explains a record of 53 lead changes. In the end, Action Express held off the Wilson/Chip Ganassi Racing Daytona Prototype by just 53 seconds.
Auto Express is new to the Grand-Am series but raced with support from the very successful and local Brumos outfit. Their Riley Daytona Prototype was powered by a specially-built version of the Porsche V8 and was similar to the car which won last year.
GT Class honors went to SpeedSource's Mazda RX-8 GT which is also built in-part by Riley. They were joined on track by two new competitors: two Turner Motorsport BMW M6s and a pair of Camaros prepared by Pratt & Miller.
