Goodwood Preview
Updated DB9
Now that the UK doesn't have a major indoor show, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is left to fill the void. This year they are promising a 'Moving Motor Show' with a manufacturer day on Thursday. Included will be world debuts of the McLaren MP4-12C, the facelifted 2010 DB9 and a Jaguar XKR that celebrates the company's 75th anniversary.
By Thursday Goodwood should have all their special displays set up. Scheduled are sections for the Alfa Romeo Centenary and a 'Style et Luxe' Concours with a section for rare supercars. Included in this will be the Ferrari F.Z.93 by Zagato and Italdesign's BMW Nazca C2.
Naturally, many of cars from the Formula One World Championship will be present as will many current WRC and IRC teams for the Forest Rally Stage. Many manufacturers will also be there, including Porsche who will celebrate victories at the Targa Florio. All the action starts next weekend, so if you're going to be around Chichester to photograph the event let us know.
GranTurismo Trofeo
First Turn at Zolder
We first heard about the Maserati Trofeo and wondered if there would be enough interest for another one-make series. Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini ran dedicated events in 2009, so there was already little room for another series. Thankfully, this last weekend at Zolder showed that Maserati definitely has enough dedicated clients to hold their own.
Before the weekend's WTCC race, about 20 fresh GranTurismos took to the track and defined what the season would look like. Each team was essentially sold a new car from Maserati plus support for €168,000. Specifically a specially-prepared GranTurismo MC with company livery to race six rounds European rounds in the championship. The sight of 20 GranTurismos on the track at the same time was enough to warrant a feature gallery.
Highlights from Greenwich
Lincoln Model K LeBaron Converible Sedan
Today we take a look at the one-of Lincoln which recently won Best of Show at the Greenwich Concours. This particular example has been enthusiastically shown at all the major shows in the last year and is our first real Lincoln feature. For good reason too, since this car has a unique front grill arrangement that went on to influence Harley Earl at GM.
Another pleasant surprise from Greenwich was the silver 911 Turbo Prototype. This car was prominently displayed on a world tour by Porsche to showcase their new turbocharged era in the 1970s. Complete with its original tartan interior and other unique features, it was a highlight of the show.
Last weekend RM staged an auction in San Diego to sell a large collection of classic muscle cars. The sale's top bid fetched $401,500 USD for this L88 Corvette. Having covered only 2,265 miles from new, it was a splendid example that was largely original.
Top Lots for Monterey
1967 L88 Roadster, 560 bhp on those tires?
Five different auctions in Monterey contribute to a weekend that's one of the best in the world. Mecum, a powerhouse in American muscle, is the newest addition to this madness and have a potent L88 Corvette for their upcoming annual event. It's one of only 20 roadsters delivered with the 560 bhp engine and is arguably the ultimate Sting Ray.
RM Auctions already have some impressive lots listed and among them is this Delahaye 175 with one of the most outrageous bodies crafted by Saoutchik. Also included are more heavy hitters including a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, a Talbot Teardrop and this Stutz which won best of show at the Meadowbrook concours. For something completely different Ed 'Big Daddy' Roth's 1964 Road Agent will also be sold at no reserve.
Bonhams has a fantastic Porsche collection from Michael L. Amalfitano on offer. We haven't got around to featuring any of the cars, but the sale includes a Porsche 917, Porsche 962 and a Carrera 4 RS Lightweight.
Audi 1-2-3 @ Le Mans
No. 9 Audi R15 TDI plus.
This year's 24 Hours of Le Mans proved the fastest car doesn't always win. Peugeot learnt this the hard way when all of their leading 908s retired, leaving Mike Rockenfeller, Timo Barnhard and Romain Dumas of Audi Sport North America the overall victory. In doing so they beat the distance record by completing 397 laps totaling 5,410.7 km (3,362.1 mi). The other two Audis placed second and third which underlined the reliability of their new variable turbine geometry (VTG) turbochargers.
Both GT class leaders suffered the same fate as Pegueot. The leading Matech-Ford GT1s retired due to failure and the Corvettes which led GT2 for most of the race retired as well. A particularly controversial pass by Anthony Davidson crashed the leading Corvette and handed the GT2 overall victory to the Porsche of Team Felbermayr-Proton. The Risi Competizione Ferrari also retired earlier in the lead with gearbox failure.
Separated into Le Mans Prototypes (LMP) and GT cars, our gallery has many spectacular images from the week in France. Whether you consider this year to be Peugeot's loss or Audi's win, it was an eventful race that saw only 50% of the competitors finish.
More from Greenwich
Italian Thoroughbreds from Bonhams
With a heavyweight weekend ahead, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, we have to finish our business from Greenwich. In conjunction with the show, Bonhams staged their annual auction including around 80 cars. The highlights can be found in our gallery of the event.
Top sale went to an Aston Martin DB6 Mark II Vantage that sold for $265,500 USD. Probably the best bought lot of them all was the rare Maserati Khamsin at $52,650. Being one of the finest examples in the world, we had no problem giving our full expression to its original details.
While in Greenwich we also stopped by the impressive Carriage House Motor Cars showroom. We found two unique Bentleys: a Continental Sedanca and the Continental Millennium Edition 6/10. There were too many big rollers to photograph, but the best are in our feature gallery.
2010 Greenwich Concours
1938 Lincoln K V12 LeBaron Converible Sedan
After a couple days work, we can now present the 2010 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance. Like previous years, it was a full weekend that reserved one day each for American and European cars. Our gallery is fairly large this time around, so the keyboard arrow keys might come in handy.
On Saturday we were immediately taken in by the American heavy metal. Some of very best muscle cars were present including an immaculate split-window Sting Ray Z06, an L89 Camaro with the desirable SS/RS trim and an original Mustang 500KR which we have over 30 pics of. Naturally the Best of Show went to a prewar car, in this case the Lincoln prototype seen here that has a special front end.
Despite an impending forecast of rain, Sunday brought out even more fans from the Tri-state area. They couldn't be disappointed with cars like the Dauer 962, nor with P4/5 which was driven enthusiastically to the show by Mr. Glickenhaus. Top honors went to a Rolls-Royce Phantom II Continental with a coat of black paint that was as good as a mirror. Other notable cars included the 1973 Porsche Turbo Prototype and the recently restored Ferrari 250 Europa GT Lightweight.
With some clever planning and an expedited awards ceremony, the concours narrowly missed rain on Sunday. We also attended the Bonhams collector car auction and visited the impressive Carriage House Motor Cars showroom which we will feature later this week.
James Bond's Own
DB5/1486/R, the most famous DB5
At their upcoming London sale, RM Auctions will offer James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 used in the 1964 movie Goldfinger. This is one of two cars used in the production and it will be offered in largely original condition. Expected to sell north of five million USD, this could become the most expensive Aston Martin sold at auction.
RM Auctions calls it the ''world's most famous car'' but they somehow forgot that Aston Martin won LeMans only five years earlier. That title might still be up for debate, but the providence of this DB5 isn't. It has been lovingly owned by philanthropist Mr. Jerry Lee for the last 40 years. He has dedicated proceeds of this car to his Foundation which solves social problems associated with poverty.
If sensational gimmickry isn't your thing, then Bonhams have the solution this weekend at the upcoming Greenwich Concours. They will offer a very rare DB6 Mark 2 Vantage that should fetch close to a 1/4 million.
Straßenversion
Porsche 911 GT1 ’98 Straßenversion
This week we feature the ultimate Porsche road car. Not only is this a one-of, but it later became the driving force behind cars like the Carrera GT, Gemballa Mirage and 9ff GT9. Very little has been posted online about this model so it remains mysterious even after pouring over all the available information.
Most already know the Straßenversion or street-version was made to homologate Porsche's 1998 race car which eventually won Le Mans. Due to the high cost of manufacture only one 1998 road-car was produced which Porsche currently retains. To put things into perspective the GT1 is nearly 600 lbs lighter than the Carrera GT.
In the past, we hoped to one day run into this singularity, but Porsche hasn't been actively touring it. Instead we worked with Porsche to provide an in-depth look at this little known supercar. Special thanks are due to Laurance Yap and Porsche Archives for their assistance.
