Top Supercars from Paris
Jaguar C-X75 Concept 4-Wheel Drive Electric Supercar
After the first day of releases, Paris has delivered an exceptional group of new supercars. Jaguar provided the biggest surprise with this C-X75 Concept. Looking like a modern day XJ220, it's another concept which hints at the future direction for electric supercars.
Lotus released a record five new concept cars at their Paris conference and said it was the dawn of a new era. The most exciting of these marks the return of the Lotus Esprit. This is joined by the 2014 Lotus Elite, the Lotus Eterne hybrid sedan and a new Lotus Elan.
Finally, Audi showed two new concepts which followed the design language introduced with the e-tron last year. The first of these is the quattro concept. Audi also revealed a spyder version which has a chopped windscreen and a TDI engine coupled with electric drive to the front axle.
Sesto Elemento unvieled in Paris
A lightweight concept in carbon fiber
Earlier today Lamborghini unveiled their Sesto Elemento concept with the Volkswagen Group at the Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris. This supercar comes after a series of five teaser images that built up anticipation before the show.
With its all carbon fiber construction, the Sesto Elemento isn't a Murciélago replacement. Instead it has Gallardo components including the V10 and an AWD platform.
Lamborghini's commitment to Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic is emphasized with this concept car. Future models will likely use more of it from Lamborghini's new Composites Research Center which employs over 30 people to test new methods for composite production.
New Ferrari in Paris
Ferrari APERTA Limited to 80 examples.
To celebrate Pininfarina's 80th anniversary, Ferrari will launch the SA APERTA at the upcoming Paris Motor Show. This 'opened' Ferrari has newly redesigned features such as the seats, the rear deck and a soft top which isn't revealed in the pictures. If we had to pick any one design from Pininfarina's 80 years it would have to be the Maserati A6GCS/53 Berlinetta.
Porsche have announced that they will be debuting their fourth generation Speedster in Paris. This model name was first applied to the 356 model and the term hasn't been applied to a Porsche since the 964 version of 1993/1994. We ran into one of the most interesting Speedsters earlier this year at the Quail Motorsports Gathering; the Speedster GT was one of the very few to be fitted with lightweight components for racing.
2010 Goodwood Revival
DBR1 Powersliding from the Chicane
With mandatory dress-up, a vintage race track and vintage supercars, the Goodwood Revival is full of racing nostalgia. Celebrating drivers, airplanes, trucks and almost anything pre-1960, this year's event kept to its successful theme with a few special features.
Almost everyone was around to witness the RAC Tourist Trophy Race which is always fielded with Ferrari GTOs, E-Type Lightweights and Shelby Cobras. One of the more charming classes was the Fordwater Trophy which was reserved for special-bodied British cars with wind-cheating bodywork and small engines.
Other special features included a parade on Saturday celebrating the 60th anniversary of BRM's first victory. Throughout the weekend John Surtees was also recognized for his 50 years of motor racing which began in 1960.
Today we can present all the sports car races from Goodwood with special attention to many other sights and sounds. Our Gallery by Dirk de Jager rivals some of the best on Supercars.net
Secret Ferrari at Bonhams
Grigio Silverstone Ferrari 550 GTZ
One of the unanounced stars at Goodwood was this 2000 Ferrari 550 GTZ. It was included on display at Bonhams' Goodwood Auction and will be offered for public sale on December 6th at their Mercedes-Benz World Auction in Surrey, England.
At Goodwood, this rare Ferrari joined a great collection of British sports cars which found new homes over the weekend. Some of highlight cars like Jaguar C-Type XKC016 and two very impressive pre-war Rileys failed to meet reserve. 70% of the cars were sold with total sales over £3 million.
As a preview to our upcoming Goodwood Revival feature we have all the cars from Bonhams including prices realized. The rest of the show will be online Thursday.
Paris Motor Show Preview
Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale
With just 10 days to go before the opening of the Paris Motor Show, many new supercars are being announced. One of these is the most developed version of the GranTurismo called the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale.
Both BMW and Lotus are unveiling styling prototypes that point ahead to future launches. The Lotus brings back the old Elite name for a new 2+2 powered by a very powerful V8. Production will start in 2014 with a hefty price tag of 115,000 GBP. The BMW shows a styling direction for the upcoming 6 series. BMW says the highlights include aesthetically sculpted surfaces, full LED headlights and a newly designed, freestanding Control Display for iDrive.
Porsche have also offered full details on their Paris intent. They will have a top-of-the-line Carrera package known as the GTS which is probably the most unstated car in the 911 lineup. The coupe version with center-lock wheels is particularly impressive. While we wait for Lamborghini to release details of their two debutants, we can consider other Paris show cars like the 2010 Ford Focus ST, Kia Pop and Vauxhall's GTC Paris Concept.
Supercars at Wilton House
Zonda & More infront of England's most beautiful country house
An event held around one of England's most highly regarded country houses is reason enough to visit the Wilton House annual Supercar Day.
This year around 100 modern supercars were lined up on the grass around the main house. The most interesting of these was a one-of Pagani Zonda called the PS. British rarities were also around including several TVRs, an Ascari Ecosse and the Lightning GT.
Today we can present a gallery of the event courtesy of Andrew Coates from globalsupercars.co.uk. If anyone has info on the Ruf GT2 that appeared, please let us know.
Concours at Paleis Het Loo
Immortal Alfas
Like many events this year, the annual Dutch Concours celebrated the anniversaries of both Jaguar and Alfa Romeo. For the later of these, a particularly well-curated class of 6C 2500s brought out some of the best examples of Alfa's immediate post-war grand tourers.
Best of Show went to a 1954 Fiat 8V Supersonic which we first saw at Villa d'Este earlier this year. It was surrounded by a very large contingent of post-war cars and many which were competing in the 'National Concours'. A new Dutch car called the Heynsdyk 2500SF was displayed on exhibition and used Porsche 944 running gear.
Today we can present a large gallery of the Concours d'Elegance Paleis Het Loo courtesy of Anthony Hazelaar who took the time to carefully photograph every car. He was particularly taken with the Brutus, a 750bhp prewar hotrod that the guys from the Sinsheim museum made in their spare time.
1000km of Silverstone
Audi led at the start
The last round of the Le Mans Series was held at Silverstone this weekend and it decided who the season champions would be. After 170 laps of the redesigned circuit, Team Peugeot Total won outright and cliched both the Driver's and Manufacturer's Championships. The team trophy went to Team Oreca Matmut who fielded a 'private' Peugoet 908 for all five rounds of the series.
It was also a great day for Porsche. Even though they didn't win Silverstone outright, they defended three titles for the 911 RSR: German Felbermayr won the team title, Porsche took the Manufacturers' Championship by just 3 points and the driver's championship went to Marc Lieb and and Richard Leitz of Felbermayr Proton. More than anyone else, Ferrari has a lot of work before the 2011 season.
The GT1 class was nearly empty for the entire year and is not likely to return. The LMP2 Championship was won by team RML who fielded a Lola all season. These winners and more can be found in our feature gallery from the 1000km of Silverstone. Looking ahead to the 2011 season, both the Aston Martin LMP1 and Oreca 03 were recently released.
Bonhams @ The Quail
1953 Maserati A6GCS
Of the five the Monterey Auctions, Bonhams is the most laid back. Their lack of entry fees and free registration are inviting and typical of the British firm. This year they had several exceptional cars over two days of sales.
Many of the main cars came from the Michael L Amalfitano Collection which added an additional day of sales. This included several impressive vintage Porsches and some late model Ferraris which Amalfitano bought new. Highlighting the sale was a Porsche 917 'Interserie Spyder' which sold for $3,967,000.
Several other great cars were on offer including the world's best 1961 Fiat-Abarth 1000 Bialbero. At $337,000 USD, it was probably a record for the model. This car and more can be found in our feature gallery with brief descriptions and prices realized.
Supercar Mondial
The New Face of Bentley
With both the Paris and LA motor shows not too far away, we should start to see a regular amount of new releases. The most recent of these is the face-lifted Bentley Continental GT. With a slightly larger front grill and better integrated valance, the car looks more purposeful and balanced.
Mazda have already announced their debut for the Paris Motor Show which will be the Shinari concept. It's a four-door, four seat coupe that looks like a much more mature RX-8. Lotus will also have their Evora S which is better car in almost every way over the standard model.
We finish with the new tuning program for the Mercedes-Benz SLS by Brabus. For now, upgrades are mostly visual enhancements, but we expect this car to develop over the coming year. Hopefully Claus from CEC wheels will have one at the upcoming SEMA show in Las Vegas.
Mecum at Monterey
$1,250,000 Corvette L88
For their second year in Monterey, Mecum offered some world-class cars. Among these was this RPO L88 Corvette which sold for $1,250,000 USD. It was closely followed by two classic Ferraris and a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster.
Focusing on American muscle cars, Mecum brought more heavy metal than anyone else to the Monterey Peninsula. Among the GTOS, Corvettes, Mustangs and Mopars was some unique one-ofs. Included in this list was the Defender Viper from the TV series V.I.P.E.R., a Ferrari 250 'Tour de France' which won at Le Mans and the 1954 Chrisman Bonneville Hot Rod.
As with the preceding auctions, we have a highlight gallery with most of the TV Stars from Mecum. Included with every car is the price realized plus a short description.
RM Auctions in Monterey
Top 3 in the Foyer
It seemed everyone was anxious to see whether or not the market could digest everything that RM Auctions had on offer in Monterey. On Saturday night 14 cars crossed the block and passed the million dollar mark which contributed to the event's 95% sale rate. Not included in this count was the Ferrari 250 TR which fetched a top bid of $10,700,000 but didn't meet the reserve. The figure would have been higher with a proper livery or if it wasn't rebodied in 1963 as a coupe.
On Thursday RM staged a Ford-only night with many cars from the company's own collection. All of Ford's own cars benefited The Children's Center based in Michigan and there was some exceptional deals. Take for instance the 2002 Lincoln Continental Concept. Powered by an Aston Martin V12 and equipped with a custom body and interior this functional concept sold for $56,100.
Both Friday and Saturday had an impressive lineup which RM called their best to date. With too many highlights to list, we instead refer you to our feature gallery which includes all the prices realized. Among the European cars, we thought the 1978 Lamborghini Silhouette at $60,500 was a good buy.
The Pebble Beach Auction
Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione 1603GT
Gooding & Company has the distinction of hosting the Pebble Beach Auction. This year they offered some top flight cars like the $7,260,000 Ferrari California you see here. It was the most expensive sale of the Monterey weekend and almost all of Gooding's top cars found new homes.
Again, the McLaren F1 asserted its dominance in the modern supercar market. The silver example on offer was very original and sold for $3,575,000 which is double the nearest modern Ferrari. McLaren also used Gooding's hospitality for the North American launch of the McLaren MP4-12C as a preview to the sale.
We have all the highlights from Gooding & Company's event and most of the $64,592,250 in sales made over the two nights. The selection of cars and overall presentation set a great example of how to sell a million dollar car.
