Rolls-Royce by Pininfarina
Hyperion is a Titan, the son of Gaia.
Yet another reason to attend the Pebble Beach Concours is the launch of Pininfarina's next bespoke car. This time they have rebodied a Rolls-Royce Drop Head Coupe into a much more elegant shape. Called the Hyperion, it's not too far off the Bentley Bucaneer made for the Sultan of Brunei.
Starting this week is an impressive display at the Modern Art Museum in Munich. Seven exceptional cars are on display including the Autobahnkurier from 1938. This car nearly won Pebble Beach in 2006 and is probably the most elegant MB coupe extant.
In supercar news we have the Versace LP640 Roadster. It is outfitted with Versace's Greek fret motif inside and out. Similarly priced is the RENNtech SLR 722. The first RENNtech SLR produced 722 horsepower and the new PKG2 bumps that to 740!
Belle Macchine d'Italia
From Left to Right: Birdcage Evolution
When initially considering the Belle Macchine d'Italia, we didn't know what to expect. Past events had brought out some Italian rarities, so we were expecting a few exceptional cars to show up this year.
Fortunately, the organizers brought together an impressive collection of Maserati Birdcages last weekend. The earliest of these was a completely unrestored Tipo 60. This particular car is from a private collection and is very rarely seen outside of Florida.
The rest of the show emphasized Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati. Sunday was reserved for a track day at the Pocono Raceway. Probably the fiercest supercar was a Maserati MC12 Corse with its deafening sound.
Almost everything that the Belle Macchine d'Italia had on display is in this week's gallery. It was completely shot by Richard Owen.
Concours Forecast
World's Most Expensive Car Gets Driven
With the concours season well underway, now is a good time to review what we can expect and what we have already seen.
First up is this opulent Bugatti Royale with a Coupe Napolean body. Being one of the most valuable cars, it is already well known as Ettore's personal car. Surprisingly, this priceless automobile is going to be driven on public roads to the Concours d'Elegance in Saint-Cloud next week. Once there, it will be among good company. We hope this becomes an annual event. If anyone is going, please let us know.
One of Pebble Beach's main themes will be Lancia and we suspect that this Nardi-Lancia prototype known as the Blue Ray II might make an appearance. It's already at the Blackhawk Collection which isn't too far from Monterey.
We end with an unexpected car: the Kaiser-Darrin Convertible. We ran into a light-green example at the end of the Greenwich concours and were taken by its proportions as well as its odd appointments.
Audi Win LeMans
Finish of the victorious Audi R10 TDI
Audi vs Peugeot was the theme for the 2008 24 Hours of LeMans. These top teams were rarely separated by more than a lap and held the top positions in the race.
In the end Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Allan McNish piloted their Audi R10 to victory some four minutes ahead of the nearest Peugeot. This result gives Audi's R10 an undefeated record and a hat-trick at the 24.
After the race, Capello said ''The only possibility for us to beat the faster Peugeots was a race without mistakes.''
GT1 was won by the 009 car, a gulf-livered Aston Martin which was only 5 minutes ahead of the trailing Corvette. With rain falling within an hour of the finish, tension was high in the pits until the final few laps.
For the 2008 edition of the race we have compiled a stunning gallery which combines the whole race with the qualifying sessions.
Stunning BMWs, Ault Park Concours
GINA's flexible hood reveals the engine
As the 24 Hours of LeMans gets well underway, we would like to quickly finish up some loose ends from the last week.
First we have BMW's new GINA Concept which has a fabric body. Unlike the pre-war fabric bodies, this one is flexible and allows the concept to change shape. While not exactly practical, we applaud BMW and Chris Bangle for trying something new.
Another BMW we have to mention is the M6 Hurricane made by G-Power. This convertible gets the same superchargers that Alpina fit to their own models. The result is a 6-series that can reach 220 mph.
We finish with the Ault Park Concours. Among a huge field of classics were highlights like the Indy-Winning Mormon Wasp, a Cheetah, a concours-winning Bugatti and more. We have an available gallery by Scott Schwartz of going-faster.com
Greenwich Concours
Duesenberg, Auburn and CCX share the field.
With separate days devoted to European and American cars, the Greenwich Concours can invite a great amount of entrants. Furthermore, the surrounding area has an impressive wealth of collections and dealers to draw cars from.
Since the organizers made an effort to include cars from every era, we were excited to see what might show up this year. For those that could bear the heat, last weekend's concours provided a tremendous spectacle.
The first day was full of American innovation and muscle. Top honors went to a dual-cowl Duesenberg which was among many other deserving cars. Sunday's European theme also brought out some impressive Ferraris and the Diablo Jota we mentioned earlier.
With Italian bodies and American underpinnings, some of our favorite cars were displayed on both days. These included Pininfarina's Corvette Rondine and a freshly restored Cunningham C3 Coupe.
Both days can be seen in our extensive gallery shot by Richard Owen. Included is a New York's first CCX, a LeMans Lagonda, Edsel Ford's MG, an unrestored California Spyder and a 10 minute thunderstorm which ended Sunday's show.
New Pagani, Edo Enzo and More
The Zonda Everyone Wants
Despite several pics of their next Zonda surfacing on the internet, Pagani have been quiet. The new car is supposedly known as the Cinque and only five of these precious supercars will be built. They appear to include traits from the upcoming Zonda R. We hope to hear more soon.
Another supercar which we have been waiting to hear more about is the Breckland Beira. Despite being British, it was first spotted at the Top Marques Monaco show earlier this year. The Beira is based on the GM Kappa platform and is powered by the 2005 Corvette's LS2.
The Greenwich Concours is scheduled for this weekend. When browsing the entry list we are particularly interested in the Lamborghini Jota Americana. This special edition was made in California to show how Al Burtoni could transform any standard Diablo into something more.
Finally, we had the pleasure of catching up with the only Edo Competition Enzo in the world. When we see the car next year, it will have an 850 bhp engine from Germany.
