2011 Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Group 6A - Ferrari GTO
The 2011 edition of the Reunion at Laguna Seca had over 500 cars and we nearly got them all. Throughout the weekend they raced in 10 lap heats while other important events were taking place in the area at the same time.
This year Jaguar was celebrated as the feature marque which tied in nicely with the 50th anniversary of the E-Type. The centrepiece display was much larger than in previous years and brought out many important cars such as two original Cunningham Jaguars from the Collier Collection. Group44 prototypes were also out in force with three racing in the IMSA GTP group.
Another highlight of the weekend was the Ferrari 250 GT race which only featured 12 cars compared to 21 in 2004. While it was the most valuable race of the weekend, other groups such as Can-Am, Trans-Am and IMSA were much better fielded and deserving of the ticket price.
Today we present the Motorsports Reunion by featuring each of the sports car classes including photography from the warm-up races held the weekend before.
2011 Pebble Beach Concours
Best of Show 1934 Voisin C-25 Aérodyne
The 2011 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance ended with the Voisin C25 Aérodyne of Peter & Merle Mullin winning Best of Show. Chosen among a spectacular field of over 200 entrants, the Voisin won alongside a Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Fixed Head Coupé and Talbot-Lago T150-C Figoni et Falaschi Coupé.
This year Pebble exercised power in numbers by grouping more than 20 Ferrari GTOs in a single class. This included several reclusive examples such as 3223GT and 3943GT which were fresh from restorations.
Mercedes-Benz was also celebrated in six separate classes. The best cars were reserved for the shoreline which included several early racecars and numerous roadsters from the S, SS, SSK and 540K lines. Stutz was similarly honored with three separate classes including one for the DV-32.
Our comprehensive gallery includes photography from both the Tour d'Elegance and the Concours. Now at over 1000 images, this will likely become the largest gallery on Supercars.net until the 2012 edition of Pebble.
Gooding Sets Records in Monterey
sold for $16,390,000
In Monterey last weekend, Gooding & Company set many records over two nights of sales. As predicted, the Testa Rossa prototype fetched the highest amount ever paid at auction for an automobile: $16,390,000. Next in line was the Whittell Duesenberg which fetched $10,340,000 USD and in the process set the highest price paid for an American car at auction.
Among the 120 or so cars, many sold for over one million and Gooding managed to sell their 200th million dollar car in the process.
As a lead up to our comprehensive Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, we present the Gooding & Company Pebble Beach Auctions with over $78 million in total sales. They managed to add over $38 million to our top bids list.
Ferrari 458 Spider
2011 Ferrari 458 Spider
Yesterday Ferrari announced the 458 Spider which will include a fully retractable hardtop. Ferrari says this is the first application of a mid-engine car with a retractable hardtop.
Much of the Spider is straight from the Ferrari 458 Italia released two years ago. The F136-FB 90° V8 produces 562 bhp and the top speed drops five clicks to 198.72 mph or 320 kph.
Both the press and public will get their first look at the 458 Spider at the upcoming 64th Frankfurt International Motor Show from September 13th to 25th. Hopefully by then we will have pictures with the top up.
Cadillac Reveal Ciel
Ciel at the Tehama Golf Club
Today Cadillac revealed their plans for Pebble by showing us the Ciel concept at the Tehama Golf Club in Carmel. The four-seat roadster is a nod to coastline cruising and was designed by GM Design’s North Hollywood facility.
Themes of the new Ciel include chiseled lines, delacate lighting and a flowing interior with wood inlays. The suicide rear doors provide ample access to the interior which is the most impressive part of the car.
Ciel will be displayed at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on Sunday as part of the concept car lawn.
2011 Quail Rally
1962 Aston Martin DB4 Vantage Convertible
Held in conjunction with multiple Monterey events, the Quail Rally is a perfect start to the Monterey week. Around 40 entrants tour the many sights and flavors of the Monterey Peninsula for two days all while enjoying the Quail Lodge's hospitality.
This year one of the main highlights is the inclusion of Ferrari GTO 3505GT which is rarely stateside. Another notable car is the DB4 Vantage Convertible which can be seen here in the Quail Meadows.
Photographers Dirk de Jager, Richard Owen and Tristan de Carro captured the start of the Quail Rally today for our feature gallery. Tomorrow, we will capture the finish of the rally at the Monterey Jet Center.
Petersen's Supercar Display
Miura, Bizzarini & Detomaso Pantera
When the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA first announced their supercar display we were anxious to see what they had in mind. Their slogan 'When too much is not enough' had us expecting the Veyron, but what else?
Fortunately, Petersen's idea of a supercar extended to the 1920s: on display was with a pre-war Mercedes that was basically a grand prix car with a roadster body. While we can think of earlier precedents, both the Mercedes and a supercharged Bugatti Type 57C were a welcome sight.
We captured the entire supercar exhibit and the rest of the museum for our feature gallery. Being one of the largest museums in America, they had something for everyone including an excellent Scooters 'Size Doesn't Matter' display.
Concours d’Elegance of America
Duesenberg Model Js
Pebble Beach is the Concours of the World and now the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth, Michigan is the Concours of America.
Last weekend the show previously held at Meadowbrook lost little momentum with a venue change. The European Best of Show award went to a Mercedes-Benz 540 K Autobahnkurier which has won every event outright except Pebble Beach.
An auction put on by RM Auctions was held in the conjunction with the Concours. They sold over 7 million dollars in cars including some American heavy metal that we wouldn't see anywhere else besides Michigan. Our photographer Steven Hauptman photographed both the concours and the auction for us.
Audi win SPA24
Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8 LMS
Today Timo Scheider, Greg Franchi and Mattias Ekström won the Total 24 Hours of Spa in their Audi Sport Team WRT Audi R8 LMS. 2-Laps ahead of the chasing Need for Speed Team Schubert BMW Z4, they won the most important endurance race for GT cars after 545 laps in 24 hours.
The race was notable for the inclusion of the McLaren GT team and their MP4-12C GT3 following a brief appearance in British GT. Two of their McLarens retired during the race and the remaining car placed 25th overall. Another significant entry was the Vita4One team (previously known as Vitaphone racing) who had two new Ferrari 458s among their team of three cars.
Our gallery of the SPA24 includes almost all the entry list courtesy of photographer Dirk de Jager. This means we are able to include many of the GT4 entries which were concurrently racing with the factory GT3 cars.
