SLR Roadster 722
722 SLR goes Drop-Top for Paris
Much like the car it is named after, the 722 Edition of the Mercedes-Benz SLR is now offered as a roadster. Mercedes will try to sell 150 of these which really completes the SLR range before a new supercar successor comes years down the road.
Like the coupe model, this roadster gets a refined 650 bhp engine, new wheels, fancy lights and a front splitter. Having a top speed of 220 mph and a soft top that can endure such speeds means that is one of the fastest roadsters on Supercars.net.
The 722 name comes from a famous drive in which Striling Moss and Jenis Jenkinson beat the Italians at the famous Mille Miglia. Their SLR was plastered with its start time of 722 and is currently one of most valuable cars in the world. It has been insured for as much as 50 million USD.
Many thanks to Axel Zahn for adding this into the database. If you would like to submit a car to us, please use this link. You will get permant credit and maybe a mention right here.
Concept Car Issue
Maserati Corse Concept
With the Paris Motor Show coming up, it's pretty easy to assemble an impressive list of concept cars. At the very forefront of these is Maserati's new GranTurismo MC Corse. It looks like a potential GT-class racer, but with all the flair of an Italian Grand Tourer.
Next we have two more Paris-bound concepts, but only with teaser images and unclear names. First is Lamborghini's four-seat supercar tentatively known as the Urus. The second comes from Citroen and is named after Sony's Gran Turismo. We hope to have better details on both these in the coming days.
Other concept Cars that we are sure on include Dodge's rebranded Lotus Europa with an electric drivetrain, Renault's space-age Ondelios and MB's refined ConceptFASCINATION.
We couldn't have a concept car feature with at least taking a look at a vintage examples from back when they were called dream cars. Here are two more from GM's 100th anniversary at Pebble Beach: the 1953 Buick Wildcat I and the 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne.
Goodwood's Revival
Spectacular Lineup for the TT Race
Last weekend, everyone in the UK played dress-up for the 10th Annual Goodwood Revival. Along with the sights and sounds of the 1960s came tweed, miniskirts, kamm tails and Boranni wires.
Among 13 classes of racing was the R.A.C. Tourish Trophy Celebration which featured the obligatory Ferrari GTOs, Shelby Cobras and E-Type Lightweights. Peter Hardman won the race in his 330 LMB, ahead of some hotly raced competition. Other classes were dedicated to all forms of motorsport that have raced on Goodwood in the past 60 years.
Major mishaps on the track were sparse until Jochen Mass rolled a Lancia Ferrari D50 and was lucky to get out alive. Mark Collins managed to capture the dramatic flip at the chicane and you can watch his video here.
Goodwood paid tribute to many of motor racing's legends. Tony Brooks was kept busy piloted different cars in the parade laps. Sir Stirling Moss was also reunited with his Tourist Trophy-winning Ferrari SWB.
Everything that Goodwood had on offer has been graciously captured by Tim Scott for our feature gallery. For more of his excellent work, we encourage you to visit Fluid Images.
GM's 100
Whole Row of Corvette Prototypes!
GM has used their 100th anniversary to launch the Chevy Volt, an electric vehicle with a fuel-engine that only works as a generator. It's a milestone for the company, one which will likely become part of GM's important Heritage Collection.
The 100th has been celebrated at almost every major show this year. These have included many of GM's own cars from the Hertiage Collection. The company has been diligent to keep many of its old show cars operational and available for special events.
One of these was the Pebble Beach Concours. GM brought out their most impressive display and some of these cars are now showcased on Supercars.net. These include: 1955 LaSalle II Roadster, 1954 Buick Wildcat II, 1951 Buick LeSabre, 1951 Buick XP-300, 1956 Buick Centurion & 1959 Cadillac Cyclone.
We had numerous chances to visit the nostalgic facility where some of these cars are stored. Now, our efforts have been compiled in a feature gallery with work from both Richard Owen and Stephan Bauer. On display is an impressive line of Corvettes with some versions we can't even name.
Dutch Concours & Supercar
Type 55 'Jean Bugatti' Roadster at the Concours
Even though Spyker has been riding through some tough financial times, they are determined to keep on. Just today the Dutch company announced the launch of a new supercar called the LM85. It is an upgraded C8 Laviolette with Spyker's FIA GT2 paint scheme.
Only 24 will be made, each with an option to fit stickers that mimic the LeMans car. With the highly updated C8 Aileron coming down the pipeline, this will probably be the last special edition 'mark 1' C8.
Today we also have the Dutch Concours better known as the Concours d'Elegance Paleis Het Loo. This year, the organizers held a quick sprint on the Royal grounds which let everyone experience some of the cars in motion.
This year's show was captured for us by Anthony Hazelaar as well as Dirk de Jager. They ran into some impressive cars including the Mas-du-Clos Bugatti Type 55 alongside a Bugatti Type 54.
Peugeot Debuts Hybrid Drive for Lemans
Peugeot Hybrid Unveiled at Silverstone
Earlier today, Pegeot unveiled their potential Hybrid 908 racecar. Known as the 908 HY, this car uses a system of batteries and energy retrieval to improve fuel consumption. Futhermore, Peugeot is showcasing a possible push-to-pass feature. In any case, racing just got a whole lot more expensive.
This isn't the first racecar equipped like this on Supercars.net. We have already showcased the Vemac RD408-H which was the world's first hybrid sports racing car.
Pegueot hope to have their car ready for the LeMans next year, but they are depending on the upcoming regulations that will govern them. For now, they have a functioning prototype which did a few laps earlier today on Silverstone before the LeMans Series races begin tomorrow.
2009 Camaro SS, and the Best Camaro
422 BHP, Pushrod Camaro SS
Today, Chevrolet released the first images of their pre-production Camaro SS. This 422-horsepower muscle car will butt heads with the other retro-styled Shelby Mustangs and Dodge Challengers already on the road.
While the Camaro has always lagged behind the Corvette in terms of prestige and performance, back in 1969 there was one option which reversed these roles. Motivated by NHRA and the ΒΌ mile, the central office issued a special order of 50 Camaros with the potent ZL1 engine.
Producing nearly 500 bhp, this all-aluminum V8 was initially prepared for Chapparal's Cam-Am racer, but found it's way into the Camaro. Only 69 were such equipped and each are the holy grail among GM Collectors. As an example, RM auctions sold an original ZL1 for $465,000 at their 2003 Toronto Classic Car Auction.
Today we examine the ZL1, its father Fred Gibb, and wonder if Chevrolet might make a modern equivalent to this vintage supercar.
Monterey Wrap-Up.
Striking Phantom Debuts at the Quail
Finally, we can finish up the legendary Monterey week of 2008. We have already had a good look at the PB Concours and Monterey Historics, so now is our chance to look at everything else.
A major precedent was set at the Gooding Auction when $7.92 million was reached for a Bugatti Type 57 Atalante. It was part of the Williamson Collection which we photographed extensively. Bonhams also split up a Frech Voisin collection belonging to Mr Moch and we have a gallery page devoted to their sale. RM hosted the last major auction which had an unrestored Shelby Cobra 289.
One of the hardest events to get into was the Quail Motorsports Gathering. We were lucky enough to be invited and heard some great stories that we hope to share later. Michael Fux decided to unveil his special-order, yellow-on-yellow Rolls-Royce, which was hard to ignore. Also in the show was an unrestored Talbot T150SS, a couple Porsche 959 Sports, Diablo Jota and much more.
After the Pebble Beach Concours was over, we finished the weekend at the Blackhawk Museum to discover even more cars. The curators had a new line of Ferraris including the late Phil Hill's very own 250 MM. Over the next few months we hope to feature it and more of these cars in great detail.
New Bizzarrini P538
Render of the Retro Bizzarrini P538
Just yesterday, the newest Bizzarrini surfaced. We have it, plus a load of other supercars that were released over the last week or so.
Many of the cars available here are extremely limited production, so much so, we really hope some of these make it past the initial prototype phase. The Jetstream SC250, Trident Iceni, Aeon GT3 Spyder and GraberCar's La Bala all fall into this category.
The new Bizzarrini we talked about earlier takes advantage of Thailand's venerable exchange rate to offer the P538. It's the product of a partnership between Arbitrage and Giotto Bizzarrini who has been resurrecting his brand every few years. In this case, the first chassis images were released yesterday from Thailand and it looks impressive.
New cars from the larger companies include Audi Sport's foray into FIA GT3 with the R8 and Lotus' nod to Jim Clark with this Type 25 Elise SC. Stay tuned, as next week we hope to tie up all that was Monterey.
