Finali Mondiali
330 GTO, SWB, 308 Group 4
To finish off the year, we end 2008 the Ferrari way at the Finali Mondiali around Mugello. This included the ultimate rounds of Ferrari's F430 Challenge, the Historic Races and the FXX World Tour. Furthermore, the parking lot was littered with almost every major modern Ferrari.
Of all the spectacular cars on display and in the races, the 365 GTB/4 NART Spyder caught our attention. This very car has recently been returned to its striking LeMans livery and looks every bit better than before.
Our friend Matteo TT Stucchi was at Mugello to capture the event. A highlight reel from his photography can be found here. For the full set visit his excellent site swisscarsightings.com. Either way, let's make 2009 a great year.
2010 Shelby GT500, Bentley GTC Speed
Bentley's Fastest Convertible
The first supercars of 2009 are already being launched. Among them, Ford has beat everyone to the chase with the 2010 Shelby GT500. Both the Coupe and Convertible feature a significantly updated interior which was a major complaint of the outgoing model.
Today Bentley released details of their GTC Speed. This new model can be spotted by its larger front intakes, redesigned steering wheel and 13-spoke wheels. Bentley call it their most powerful convertible to date.
Before it's too late we have to mention some tuned supercars that are new to the database. These include the Mansory Veyron 16/4 Vincero, MTM's RS6 R Avant and the G-Power M5 Hurricane RS.
Top 10 Supercars of 2008
Mazda Furai at Goodwood
Tough fuel prices nor an economic crisis will slow down the supercar. 2008 was another exceptional year with too many launches and too little time. With no flagship models coming from either from Ferrari or Lamborghini, we also had much more room to fill.
At the very beginning of the year we got Mazda's Furai which hits our top spot. Not only do we applaud its radical styling, but also the functional Courage chassis from motorsport. Nothing produced or tuned this year came together with such synergy.
Seasons greetings and all that. See you in the new year:
1) Mazda Furai Concept (functional lmp1)
2) GTbyCITROEN(spaceship on 4 wheels)
3) Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG Black (wheel flare's best moment)
4) 9ff GT9R (custom body 911, 1100 bhp)
5) Aston Martin One-77 (Bond's DBS on steroids)
6) Bugatti 16/4 Veyron Grand Sport (world's fastest cabriolet)
7) Rolls-Royce Pininfarina Hyperion (bespoke luxury)
8) Ferrari F430 SP1 (million dollar F430)
9) Chevrolet Corvette ZR1(chev's most powerful vette)
10) Alfa Romeo Bertone BAT(simply stunning)
Last Events of the Year: Bologna & Gstaad
Ferrari 121LM 0558LM
Unusually high reserves kept most the Ferraris from selling at last weekend's auction in Gstaad. Despite putting together a stellar collection of Italian cars, Bonham's failed to sell any of the highlight lots.
The first among these was an ex-LeMans Ferrari 121LM which attracted a high bid of 3.7 million USD. The other star of the sale, a Motto-bodied 212 Export also failed to sell at 2.15 million USD. One car which caught our eye was a blue and red 308 Group 4 prepared by Michelotti. All these and more can be found in our feature gallery by Dirk de Jager.
The Bologona show was the last major international event of the year. We featured some of the cars last week but now have a gallery full of supercars. Major debuts included the Ferrari Scuderia 16M, Covini's C6W Spider, Gallardo LP560-4 Super Trofeo and Volkswagen Scirocco Studie R. Our combined gallery by Davide Barbaro and Bezzi Enrico has all of these.
The Sir Stirling Moss SLR
From front to rear, a completely restyled SLR
Mercedes-Benz has decided to spice up the Detroit Auto Show with their latest and probably last version of the SLR. It's named after Sir Stirling Moss for his legendary win at the 1955 Mille Miglia.
As an indefinite article, the Stirling Moss is strictly a two seat roadster with no soft top and no windscreen. The appeal of such a design will no doubt limit the supercar's appeal, but Mercedes are still confident enough to announce a production of 75. Enough for a one-make race series if we can be so speculative.
The extreme specification of this SLR comes straight from the 300SLR Stirling raced at the 1955 Mille Miglia. Both cars have a functional air brake that can take the strain off of tires and rotors.
Unlike the new car, the original '722' is currently valued as one of the most expensive in the world. It is on permanent display in the Mercedes museum alongside some other seminal Daimler designs.
Brunei Treats from Singapore.
Nazca looks new in blue - photo by Andy Fianeis Sew
We pay attention when the Sultan of Brunei's secret collection comes up. Such is the case with Basman's epic thread revealing that some Brunei supercars recently showed up in Singapore!
To highlight their 40th anniversary, Hong Seh Motors held a show at the local Formula 1 pit building. The display included a copy of almost every modern Ferrari, but several Sultan specials really got our attention!
The first of these was the deep blue Italdesign Nazca M12 you see here. This car had never been photographed before and features an Alpina V12. Today, we can present the first full feature on the M12
.
If the Nazca or the Cizeta Prototype are too much, then 512 TR Spider or Testarosssa might be a good pick. Both these cars are original Pininfarina designs unlike the many aftermarket conversions which are much more common. View all the cars in this week's gallery by Mr. Andy Fianeis Sew.
4 New Holiday Supercars
Dramatic Exhaust for Reiter's RG-T
With multiple companies pulling out of motorsport for economic reasons, it is remarkable others are still optimistically moving forward and launching supercars.
The first of these cars is Reiter's Murcielago R-GT Streetversion. Built and released in Germany, it mimics the company's FIA GT racer in many ways. Our photographer Dirk de Jager first spotted this one at the Essen Motorshow a few weeks ago.
Next we have SSC's updated Ultimate Aero also known as the 'World's Fastest Production Car'. With numerous styling and performance improvements SSC expect to widen the gap between themselves and the competition, as much as 270 mph.
We finish with the Zenvo ST1, a Danish supercar that is still in the prototype phase. Imola Racing's Wide Body F612 Scagietti also caught our attention this week.
BMW Welt & Essen Leftovers
BMW Welt with Museum in background
Today we can introduce a new photographer, David Engel, who has shared two of his most recent galleries with us.
The first of these comes from BMW's new dealer headquarters called 'BMW Welt'. Fortunately, when this unique structure was being constructed, BMW took the time to renovate their museum-a bowl designed by Karl Schwanzer and described as a continuation of the road in an enclosed space.
Now with about 5 times more available space, BMW has put some impressive cars on display at the museum including the GINA Light Visionary Model, H2R Concept and numerous temporary exhibits. The new space opened earlier this year and is a treat for the eyes.
We finish with David's highlight gallery from the Essen Motor Show. More of David's work can be found at www.engel.ac. Addionally, we have also added the MTM Scirocco R and 2008 Carlsson SL CK63 RS from the show.
Audi R8 V10, Bologna Motor Show
Audi's R8 finally gets a V10
Even though we have new details and images of the upcoming R8 V10, there aren't many surprises to mention. The car has been scheduled for the Detroit Auto Show for some time and trails its GT3 variant. The production version, called the 5.2 FSI Quattro, will be produced in 2009, have a price tag of 142400 Euros, and provide 525 bhp to all four wheels. Hopefully Audi will bring the red version to Michigan.
The 33rd Bologna Motor Show is currently underway. Besides the debut of Ferrari's Scuderia Spider 16M, Volkswagen has the Scirocco Studie R and Covini unveiled a drop-top version of their 6-wheeled supercar. If anyone has photos from the show, please let us know.
Other recent supercar releases include the ABT Scirocco and Audi's S5 Cabriolet.
SEMA
Premier4509 Murcielago & LP560
By popular request we have decided to revisit the SEMA show from last month. Lucky for us, Jason Thorgalsen of Vodcars.com has graciously let us edit his photos for our comprehensive gallery.
Jason spent considerable time around the new Camaros (the official vehicle of the show), but also found many European imports. For instance, CEC shipped over the TechArt GTStreet R and a AC Schnitzer ACS6
Other jems included two Premier4509 Murcielagos, the Mine's GT-R, a Brabus S600, a lime green 1000 HP Hefner Gallardo. All these can be found in Jason's gallery, along with a few ladies of SEMA.
