2009 Essen Motor Show
Brabus B63 Debuts
Held over the next week, Messe Essen is currently showcasing the best of German tuning. Some companies like Brabus took the opportunity to launch their 555 hp E63 AMG. It ranks among the best W212s on Supercars.net.
9ff brought another new car called the Speed9. It's a 911 converted into a speedster and is an homage to the Porsche 356. Geiger also finished their bright green Geiger HP 790 for the show.
All the highlights from Essen can be found in this week's gallery by Dirk de Jager. He also photographed a dedicated Ferrari exhibition with an unrestored Ferrari 410 Superamerica.
Muscle from Barrett-Jackson
1969 Road Runner with a factory hood scoop
Next January Barrett-Jackson will host their signature auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. They have recently released their entire lot list, so we spent some time pouring over it to find the highlights. One of the first cars we spotted was this Road Runner 440. It is the only Mopar that uses a fiberglass lift-off hood and is the definition of stripped-out muscle.
Another highlight on the list is a 1970 Buick GSX which should need little introduction. Back in the day they were included in many shoot-outs with the HEMI Mopars. Barret-Jackson also have two 442s which were closely related to the GSX.
Our final car is the rarest of them all and the first Mercury Comet on Supercars.net. This one is the product of Mercury's performance division and was built on special order for the drag strip. With no flashy paint, strips or badges, this 'R Code' Comet is the ultimate sleeper.
2001 Concorso Italiano
Choose your own adventure
Having covered the Concorso Italiano for 10 years, we can confidently say 2001 was the best of the decade. As proof, we have prepared an updated gallery which is now more comprehensive than before.
Frank Mandarano curated the 2001 show and dedicated it to Pininfarina-designed Ferraris. Many of Pininfarina's own museum cars were shipped from Italy including the Rossa prototype. These were surrounded by many classic Ferraris and one-of Pininfarina Speciales.
Concorso also welcomed Keuylian MotorCars which brought out two of everything. Most of these were special models like the Diablo GT, XJ200 TWR and EB100 SS. Furthermore, the second Zonda imported into the states was also present.
Motorsport Mundial
The new face of Porsche racing
With the motorsports season effectively over, new ideas and cars are currently being tested. Porsche today announced their intention to take over the highly competitive GT3 class with the new Porsche 911 GT3 R. It has a slightly larger engine and updated aerodynamics package compared to the standard 2010 Cup car released last month. In 2009, Mühlner Motorsport finished 8th position in the Team's Championship with their GT3 Cup S.
Once again the WRC has lost the Monte Carlo Rally to the much more competitive Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) for 2010. This means the S2000 class will be competing for overall honors and Ford will be ready. Their new Fiesta S2000 is developed with M-Sport Limited and will take on Kris Meeke in the winning Peugeot 207 S2000.
We finish with a Ferrari rarity from their popular P-car era. In 1966, Drogo was commissioned to modify three Ferrari P2s for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They supported the much more evocative 330 P3 which was eventually defeated by the Ford GT40.
Auction Stars
Up for Auction in March
Over the weekend Gooding & Co. were proud to announce that they will offer this year's Amelia Island Concours winner at their upcoming March sale in Florida. Some might remember this is the stunning Voisin C20 Mylord which features a dramatic 'top hat' body and an incredible sleeve-valve engine. It was recently restored and will become the most expensive Voisin ever offered at auction.
RM Auctions will also host an important sale in January. One of their star cars is the 1954 Mercury Monterey XM-800 which was restored and debuted at the Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance. This is one of the very few Ford concept cars that survived from the era of 1950s futurism.
Along with the XM-800, a couple other interesting concept cars will be offered by RM. These include the 1955 Astra Coupe which is one of the first American cars to use an all-aluminum body. Also included is this 1956 Chrysler Plainsman by Ghia which was saved from Cuba in remarkably original condition.
BMW Tuning
730 bhp M5
Lumma isn't a company we mention very often, but their latest M5 is pretty outrageous. It is twin-supercharged to offer 730 bhp much like the G-Power version we featured earlier this year. It will probably debut at the upcoming Essen Motor Show where its high contrast paint and interior is bound to grab attention.
BMWs have long been the victim of tuners. Some of the top models like the M1 were outfitted early on by Styling Garage Spezialkarosserien. Koenig-Specials also made a few cars like the 510 bhp KS8 and the rarer 6 Series conversion. If anyone has more information on the Koenig 6-Series, please let us know.
One even earlier car is this 1982 Dietel-Alpina 345i which had 310 bhp on tap. It was recently sold by Barrett-Jackson and is an interesting look at tuning in the 80s before the M Division really blossomed.
The Shooting Brakes
Roos Engineering's Impressive V600
Avant, Touring, Estate, Wagon. Whatever you want to call them, the Shooting Brakes are an anomaly in the supercar world. None that we know of have come straight from a manufacturer and most were built in very limited editions.
If a customer wants a two-door wagon capable of high speed and room for the dog, we can think of no better option than Roos Engineering's V8 Vantage. But this is no ordinary Vantage, instead it is the V600 version which receives so much acclaim for its 600 bhp engine. The result is stunning and we have some new pictures to prove it. Also, we should mention Roos isn't the first company to transform Aston Martins like this; Radford outfitted several DB5s in the 1960s.
Probably the most absurd example of a Shooting Brake would be the converted Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona of the Ferrari 250 GT Breadvan which contested events like the 24 hours of Le Mans. Other contenders for the 2-door shooting brake title include the Chevrolet Nomad, Mini Cooper S Clubman and Mindset EV.
Lightweight BMWs
Spectacular 1975 CSL photo from Lou Galanos
Today we look at past and present lightweight BMWs . The most radical of these is the CSL BMW Motorsport prepared for American IMSA races. We are fortunate to have some period photographs of it, including the 1976 Daytona Winner, from photographer Lou Galanos.
We mention this model because BMW recently released their own tribute car to the CSL by modifying a current generation BMW M5. Although just a concept, the livery clearly pays tribute to the 1975 cars.
Even more recently BMW announced their M3 GTR. It's a lightweight version that is going to be used to homologate a lightweight M3 on the racetrack. Don't expect to see these stateside anytime soon.
New Concepts from SEMA
The 'Jay Leno Camaro'
Today SEMA opened its doors in Las Vegas and several new cars were unveiled by Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler. We start with Jay Leno's new ride which is a high performance V6 Camaro with a bodykit that would be suitable for a modern Z28.
GM Engineering also brought out several more accessorized Camaros that showcase what future special models might be like. This includes Camaro Chroma with a painted grill surround, Camaro Dusk with contemporary touches and Camaro Synergy with a limited-production exterior color for 2010. Futhermore Chevrolet brought out a Heritage Edition of the Corvette Grand Sport.
We already knew about most of the Fords coming to the show, but they saved the 2010 Ford Mustang Cobra Jet until the opening day. This 1/4-mile ready mustang follows the previous Cobra Jet in that it's ready for HRA Stock and Super Stock racing.
RM Auctions in London
Pair of Mercerdes-Benz CLK GTRs
One of the main reasons to visit London last week was the exceptional auction hosted by RM. Their centerpiece included a pair of Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR road cars that sold for about a million USD each. Dirk de Jager was there to capture them for this week's feature gallery.
The Big Mercs were joined by a 1954 SL 300 that was outfitted to modern standards by AMG. Only a handful of cars outside of Brunei have been sold and each cost one million euros to make. Selling for $750,000 USD, it has to be one of the most valuable resto-mod projects.
RM was also proud to offer probably the best Aston Martin DB2 extant. This particular car was used by the factory at all the major races and by David Brown in the off-season. Called a 'Team Car', it sold for £550.000 or around $900,000 USD.
