Car Auction Round-Up - September 2020

 As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to blight the world and seemingly stop all events from taking place, car auctions are still continuing online or through small, socially distanced live auctions (such as the Passion of a Lifetime auction by Gooding & Co.). There are three auctions taking place in September which has taken my deepest interest as to the what the results will be as well as a lot of unique models and manufacturers that will be crossing the block. These three auctions are the Musee de L'Aventure Peugeot by Aguttes, the Bonmont Sale by Bonhams and Classic Car Auctions' September Sale. 

The first sale is the Classic Car Auctions' September Sale which will take place at Leamington Spa on the 18th/19th September with 234 lots crossing the auction block. The highest predicted seller is a 1971 Porsche 911S 2.2 which has an estimate of £75,000 to £90,000, and with 90,000 miles and a five star overall condition, this should be an interesting car to watch sell. Finished in black and with the 2.2l Flat-Six it had a top speed, when new, of 138mph with 0-60mph taking seven seconds and 180 break horsepower, making it still a capable sports car even today. The first highlight lot for me is a 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, the second generation of the ultra-lighweight Lamborghini Gallardo. Powered by a 5.0 naturally aspirated V10 to produce 522bhp, this was built to rival the Ferrari 430 Scuderia and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. This example is black underneath but has been vinyl wrapped in Verde Ithaca which was a colour that would eventually launch on the third generation of the Gallardo Superleggera. The name 'Superleggera' means 'super light' and is a nod to the construction style of the 350GT. This example was originally sold in Dubai, hence it is a left-hand drive model, where it spent most of its life in a private collection before making its way to the UK in 2015. With 29,000 miles on the odometer, this car is estimated to sell for £50,000 to £60,000, a truly astonishing figure considering a similar model with only 5000 miles is for sale for £80,000. The next standout car is an extremely rare model that doesn't come up for sale at all that much being the 2008 MG SV. The MG SV was a slightly failed entry into the sports car market as they never really reached mass production with only 82 being completed excluding four pre-production prototypes. It began when MG Rover acquired the failed Italian firm Qvale and continued the production of their car, the Mangusta, in the new format of the SV. It was aimed to be a new British sports car under £100,000, and it succeeded at one part with the price for the base car being £65,000. However it was not a very British car as many parts were sourced from Fiat such as the headlights from a second generation Punto and rear lights coming from the Fiat Coupe. Powered by a 4.6l V8 and producing 320bhp for a top speed of 165mph was brilliant for a sports car of that price, but unfortunately it was the low price that cost MG the most as the company fell into financial troubles and by the time they went into administration in 2005, they had only sold nine, most prolifically to Rowan Atkinson. This example has little over 2000 miles and will cross the block for an estimate of £40,000 to £45,000, over £10,000 less than the car was originally sold for. The final two cars that are highlights are rally tribute cars which may not sound very interesting like that but when the cars are examined they're both very special. The first is a 2000 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI TME. The TME stands for Tommi Makinen Edition which is a tribute to the famed rally driver Tommi Makinen who raced in the World Rally Championship for Mitsubishi in the 1990s and early 2000s racking up an impressive 23 wins in Mitsubishi cars. To celebrate this feat, Mitsubishi created a limited 2500 example run of cars which added a titanium turbocharger and a new ECU to push the car up to around 300bhp. It also featured the Enkei WRC inspired rims on the car as well as the embossed Recaro seats and the MOMO steering wheel, it is truly a tribute to Makinen's rally successes. This car has an estimate of £19,000 to £23,000 which is a massive decrease on previous results as these cars can be sold for up to double the estimate. The final standout car for me is a 1995 Rover Mini Cooper. Now these are fun little cars on their own but this example is a truly rare car I didn't know existed. This is the Monte-Carlo edition which is fitted with spotlights and vinyls on the rear and side of the car to commemorate the cars success at the Monte-Carlo Rally throughout its rally history. This was originally registered new in the UK in 1995 and has lived its life in a collection of cars including a Ferrari F40 and a Pagani Zonda. It has also been meticulously resprayed and fitted with an original interior which makes it even more special. Also as if this car wasn't special enough, there are only 200 Mini Monte Carlo editions and therefore the estimate price of £15,000 to £17,000 seems like a steal.

The next standout auction of this month is Aguttes auction of Peugeots and Citroens. This may not sound like an interesting auction but in fact this is an auction of the Peugeot and Citroen heritage collections, meaning there are some truly special cars crossing the block. The highlight sale is an ex-Sebastien Loeb Citroen DS 3 WRC car. Between 2011 and 2016, the Citroen DS3 racked up 26 World Rally Championship wins making it one of the most successful rally cars of the modern era. This example, chassis 17, took place in 32 World Rally Championship rallies between 2012 and 2016 with 11 wins, 16 podiums and only four retirements making it a reliable car as well as an extremely fast one. This was the car that Loeb used during his 9th World Rally Championship winning season and is one of the most technically advanced rally cars of the modern era with 300bhp and with 188bhp per litre, it moves deliriously quickly. It can accelerate to sixty miles per hour and back to a dead stop in under 7 seconds which is why it was such an incredible off road machine. Currently the price estimate of this car is price on application but in the history of selling modern rally cars, they can vary as a previous Citroen DS3 Rally car failed to sell but with an estimate of £300,000 to £400,000 but for sale on www.motorsportauctions.com, there is a Skoda Fabia WRC car for £42,000 meaning this sale could go either way. The next standout sale is another off road beast, but this time is a Peugeot not a Citroen. It is, of course, the 2016 Peugeot 2008 DKR16 which is an entirely different 'car', if you can even call it a car, than the Citroen DS3. Loosely based on the road-going Peugeot 2008, this example has been jacked up and completely restyled to create a Dakar destroyer. The Dakar Rally is constantly labelled one of the hardest races to exist, originally from Paris to Dakar in Senegal but moved to South America for political reasons. With 71 deaths in its history spanning back to 1979, and terrain spanning from deserts to mud and having to climb rocks and mountains at a rate of 800km per day, its a tough challenge. Peugeot were the first champions of Dakar as they dominated the early years before Mitsubishi and even Porsche arose to the challenge. But in 2016, the year of the Peugeot returned as this car won the 2016 Dakar Rally after a 25 year absense from rally raid racing and what a car they did it in. The engine was a diesel V6 more commonly found in the Peugeot 407 and the Citroen C6 but it had the underpinnings and tuning help from the Peugeot 908 HDI, the LMP1 car that took Team Peugeot to a third placed finish at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. The car surprisingly was rear wheel drive even for taking on the most difficult terrain in the world, but the 800nm of torque and the six speed sequential gearbox helped it to its victory. One of only four examples produced this car has an estimate of £450,000 to £550,000. This is the first Dakar of its kind to be sold at auction so who knows whether the estimate is accurate or not. The next highlight takes the word 'interesting' and gives it a whole new meaning. The Peugeot Flux is not a road legal car and also is not a production model meaning it is a concept car. Concept cars are used for car manufacturers to show off their styling department and very rarely to preview new models which will be produced. This example is a styling model designed in 2007 due to a competition Peugeot launched under the theme of PLEASE - Pleasure, Lightness, Efficiency, Accessibility, Simplicity and Ecology. The Flux was the outcome built in a 1:1 scale of the designers style, but with no working parts. It is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell and an electric motor and the body is made up of plastic and aluminium. It was even featured in the 2007 video game Project Gotham Racing 4 with a full adaptation which could be won and driven. It has an estimate for sale of £45,000 to £50,000 which is a lot for what is essentially a model. The final car worth mentioning is a 2005 Citroen C2 by Sbarro. Sbarro is a school that Citroen contacted with a challenge to fit the biggest engine they could into the smallest car of the Citroen range which happened to be the C2. This was meant to be a challenge that could hark its roots back to Carroll Shelby who put the 7.0 V8 into the AC Ace to create the Cobra and the students in this case did a remarkably job. It has been described as an 'impressive car with great potential', as it featured a 3.0 V6 which could produce just under 300bhp and with rear drive and only weighing a tonne, if it was tested it would have been a rapid car. Unfortunately with only one produced, this was never tested for its capabilities on track. This has an estimate £30,000 to £40,000 and has never been registered and it doesn't mention whether it can be registered for road usage. 

I have covered last year's edition of the Bonhams Bonmont Sale as it was the first of its kind and featured lots of seized hypercars including the first Lamborghini Veneno to be sold at auction. This sale features cars of the same quality and some incredibly unique sales as well. The first highlight cars include two Bugatti Veyrons, beginning with the 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse. Built as a targa-topped version of the Supersport, which was at the time the fastest car in the world at 268mph. The Grand Sport Vitesse features the same 1200bhp output as the Supersport but is electronically limited to 233mph, which still makes it the fastest convertible in the world. With only 92 GSVs in the world this is an exceptionally rare model and deserves the £1.4million to £1.8million price estimate. The next example is a Veyron Supersport and is finished in dark blue exposed carbon fibre with a black and blue leather interior and being one of 48 produced, it is half as rare as its targa topped variety and this one is specified as a one off unique spec. An example of the unique specification is the black badging rather than the silver badging on the standard Veyron. This has the same estimate price as the Grand Sport Vitesse but is half as rare which suggests that the car will exceed the estimate. The next standout car is a lot lower down in the estimate than I was expecting for it. It is a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 Super Veloce, which is number 245 out of the planned run of 350. However, during the production of the Murcielago SVs, the production line was changed to fall in line for the new Aventador model to begin production, therefore only 186 were built. It is the ultimate version of the Murcielago which is one of the best modern V12 cars of the last 15 years and therefore it is surprising for the estimate to be as low as £170,000 to £200,000. This may not sound cheap but when compared to other cars in the auction such as a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and Mercedes SLR McLaren at the same price, it seems a bargain. Even moving away from auctions, in the UK there is not a single Murcielago SV for sale under £350,000 and for the same estimate as the example in the sale, there are only Murcielago Roadsters for sale in the UK. This shows how much of a bargain this example is and that it will definitely sell beyond its estimate. The next highlight is another very rare car, in fact one of the rarest cars of this auctions with only 25 examples being made. The Porsche Carrera GT is a superb car with the massive V10 which roars when pushed to the absolute limit but to have 800bhp coming from the 5.7l V10. This is where Gemballa stepped in and took 25 Porsche Carrera GTs and modified to clients standards often including a roof scoop, an electronic rear wing and a fully redesigned front and rear bumpers and side skirts. This example is finished in satin black with red accents on the rims and the headlights to almost create a devilish look to the car. The car is even rarer than before as earlier this year, a Gemballa Mirage GT was crashed in Los Angeles before being driven off and later abandoned and written off by the owner, creating of Gold Rush Rally US, who was later arrested. This has an estimate of £510,000 to £680,000 which surprisingly is less than most standard Carrera GTs are valued at which could mean there is some growth to this sale.

 This concludes the standout sales of September in the auction world, all there is time to do now is wait for the results.

References

https://www.glenmarch.com/auctions/upcoming

https://www.classiccarauctions.co.uk/auctions

https://www.bonhams.com/departments/MOT-CAR/

https://www.aguttes.com/en/home

Concours D'Elegance - New Car Releases

Today marks the beginning of one of the first major car events in the UK since the lifting of lockdown restrictions being the Hampton Court Palace Concours event. Featuring a selection of the world's latest and greatest cars, this event features 60 cars spread around the beautiful Hampton Court Palace as well as trade stands featuring the latest cars from the most prestige car manufacturers. Although, at the time of writing this, it is only the first day of the event yet there are a few cars that have been unveiled which have changed the face of the performance and rare car industry. 

2020 saw the introduction of the new Land Rover Defender which was a bold move by Land Rover as the old face Defender was one of the most iconic and superb cars ever made and therefore a restyle was always going to be a controversial move and was always going to be met with criticism. However, when the Discovery inspired styling launched with the same, if not better, off-road performance than the previous generation, it was greeted with praise and massive success. It is estimated that over a million people configured a Defender on Land Rover's website in the first week, and although the base list price is just over £40,000, it seems to be a commercial success for JLR. However, what do you do if you prefer the old shape Defender and still want a new car? Well Ineos have come to your rescue. With their new car, the Ineos Grenadier it looks exactly like a 1990 Land Rover Defender. In fact, Ineos have taken the basic shape of the old Defender but made a brand new car with state of the art powertrain and components. The design also takes certain cues from other classic off-road cars such as the Mercedes G Class, Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, Ford Bronco and the Nissan Patrol. Interestingly this car does not follow the convention of other retromod car manufacturers. Taking Singer 911s and Eagle E-Types as an example, to commission one of those has to require some deep pockets with the cheapest variant of either car being a Singer 911 as prices start at £475,000. Whereas with the Ineos, the list price for commission is £40,000 which is near identical to the current Defender generation. The example shown at Concours seems to be based on the Defender 110 with the long wheelbase 5 door layout and being parked alongside an original Defender 110, the Ineos seems to be wider and taller than the original and the rear of the car is similar to the rear of a Mercedes G55 AMG with the square rear window, showing the influence of other 4x4s. CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe came up with the idea of the Ineos Grenadier after he failed to acquire to designs and tools from Jaguar Land Rover in order to continue the production of the Defender and he plans to begin production in a few years to target 25,000 units per year. 

The next debut comes from Alpine who have excelled since their rebirth with their fantastic A110 sports car, with a new edition of the A110. This release comes on the same day as Renault's restructure that has left Alpine in the hands of F1 team owner Cyril Abiteboul. The Alpine A110 was first introduced in 2017 in homage to the original Alpine A110 from the 1960s and 70s. Although the car only uses a 1.8 litre turbocharged engine, it has been praised as being one of the most fascinating engines and one of the best engines of the last few years. Automotive journalist and Grand Tour star James May owns an Alpine and stated he enjoys the fact it is so small and due to this it has supercar power with sports car looks. It came as the runner up to the Jaguar I Pace at the 2019 European Car of the Year awards too which for a sports car, is a hard to come by achievement. The latest version of the Alpine is called the Legende GT and with only 400 units to be made and a list price over £10,000 more than the base A110, is it worth the extra spend? Well, it has 249bhp which is the same as the base car, accelerates to 60mph in 4.5 seconds which is the same as the base car and a top speed of 156mph which somehow is an increase of 1mph over the standard A110. So far there doesn't seem to be much worth it for the Legende GT but it could be a limited edition similar to Aston Martin's Carbon Black editions in that only visual elements are different. This may be the case with the Legende GT as it features gold badging, 18in wheels and amber coloured interior to resemble the interiors of the vintage Alpine A110 rally car. It can be specced in three different colours being Deep Black and Blue Abyss which can be specced on the standard car and a new colour being the spec it launched in at Concours being Mercury Silver. Although it has little variation from the base car, the fact that this will be rarer than a Lamborghini Aventador SV could make it a future classic.

Aston Martin have a history of creating bespoke one offs such as the crazy Cygnet microcar with the 4.7l V8 from the Aston Martin V8 Vantage and the Aston Martin GT12 Roadster and now they have announced a new one created for an unnamed Belgian customer. The Q Division of Aston Martin, named after the character Q from James Bond, is responsible for all these one off models and the latest one is certainly one of the best looking cars of the year so far. It's called the Victor, named after Victor Gauntlett who was responsible for the rebirth of Aston Martins cars in the 1980s. It has also been unveiled to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Vantage nameplate and due to that a lot of the styling cues are taken from Aston Martin Vantage models. The body is finished in carbon fibre and has most of its styling taken from the one off Aston Martin RHAM/1 which was a touring car based on the 1977 V8 Vantage. Due to this the Victor seems very wide and also very very low to the ground to make it as aerodynamic as possible along with the duck tail spoiler. The grill is also from the previous generation Vantage. But the main talking point of this car is what the platform is. It comes from an Aston Martin One-77 prototype body which can be seen in the sleek roofline and the classic Aston Martin silver side intake but the engine is truly masterful. The 7.3 litre V12 from the One-77 was stripped out of the car and taken to Cosworth to be completely rebuilt. This raises the 750bhp power output to a scary 836bhp and this was then attached to a six speed manual gearbox, but some would say the handling platform is even better. The Victor is in fact a One-77 on a Vulcan handling platform, the Vulcan being the 24 only track only Aston Martin, and incorporates elements from the Vantage GT3 race car and the new Valhalla. Before today it was not known about so much that Aston Martin say the Pentland Green paint finished drying mere hours before its public debut. This is certainly a car that will either be highlighted as a masterpiece of automotive design or it will be hidden away in some underground car collection to never see the light of day again, and everyone not at Hampton Court is hoping for the former most likely.

RM Sotheby's Auction Reviews - Online Only Auctions

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the car auction industry has had to quickly adapt to the changes and shift from live auctions to online sales. The whole concept of the auction change is extremely complex as they have had to move from auctions that take five hours to complete and have confirmed sales announced instantly, to auctions that roll over 7 days with bids every day to increase the value. The lots are also mainly offered without a reserve as with no auctioneer to ramp up the bidding, many of the lots would not reach the reserve on the rolling format, leading to little success for the auction house. One of the best auction houses to adapt to these changes have been RM Sotheby's and therefore have had the most success from their online auctions. This piece will cover two of their online auctions being the Driving into Summer auction and The European Sale with the Petitjean Collection . It will cover the standout lots, unique cars and interesting results. 

The first auction is the Driving into Summer auction which acted as one of the larger online sales for RM Sotheby's with 217 lots total compared to the average of 100 in their other auctions. It also varied from the standard auctions as it featured a lot of low priced cars as well as the usual high end sales meaning that they had a lot more bidders than they usual obtain according to RM Sotheby's. The star of the show for this auction also became the most expensive car to sell at an online only auction and was a 2003 Ferrari Enzo. With less than 1250 original miles and two owners from new, this was always going to be a high seller and even though it was an online auction (meaning the top prices were never truly achieved), it still managed to sell for $2.64m and set the precedent for how the rest of the auction was to go. A 1995 Ferrari F50 failed to sell as it was one of a few cars to have a reserve but a 1985 Ferrari 288 GTO did sell for $2.31m. Sticking with Ferrari, a 488 Pista Spider retained its reputation as being far more expensive than the price at new with a black and red example selling for $605,000, over double the price at new and nearly the same price as the limited series 458 Speciale Aperta. Two Ferrari 250 GT Coupe's were also in this auction with the Ellena bodied example selling for $671,000 and the Pininfarina example failing to sell. It wasn't just Ferrari dominating the top sellers however as a 2017 Ford GT also crossed the block, with a sale price of $836,000, nearly double the $420,000 price new. However this shows that Ford GTs are in fact an investment much like the previous generations of the GT name. Being an online auction, there were some examples of cars that sold for much cheaper than I expected them to sell for and some much more expensive than I would've expected. The first of which is a 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish S. When this first launched, it was the pinnacle grand tour car with the 5.9l V12 which could hit 200mph but also all the luxury and comfort of a Rolls-Royce at the time. This car was the leading car in the market and therefore the original price of the car was £170,000. Yet 18 years later and with only 33k miles on the odometer, this car sold for $46,200. For context, for the same price in the UK is a second hand Range Rover Velar for the same price as a 200mph supercar. Besides this there were not many cars that had a surprising sale price although many of the lots were classic American muscle cars and I don't fully know their market values. There were however two lots that caught my eye for being interesting and unique beginning with a 1990 Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II which is one of the most interesting cars around. The car was originally developed by Mercedes to challenge the Talbots and Ford Escorts that were dominating the world rally championship and therefore designed the saloon body and went to Cosworth for the 16 valve twin cam competition engine to complete the project. However by the time Mercedes had done all this, Audi had revolutionised world rallying with the four wheel drive Quattro, rendering the 190E useless. It therefore turned its attention to the DTM Touring Car Championship where it would rival the class leading BMW M3.It launched into the championship with incredible drivers such as Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Stirling Moss, Michael Schumacher, Elio De Angelis, Alain Prost and a rookie known as Ayrton Senna. After immense success in the DTM, the 190E didn't translate good in sales with the E30 M3 dominating the market so Mercedes produced a homologated version that used the same engineering as the racing car and called it the Evo 2. With the large rear spoiler and 350bhp produced in only 502 examples, it was a hit due to the German engineering and rarity, and sold at this auction at a snip over $230,000. The other car is the 1939 Delahaye USA Pacific. This car is without a doubt one of the most beautiful cars potentially ever built, and with a very interesting story, because in truth this is not a 1939 car. Delahaye USA is a resto-mod manufacturer who recreate classic body shapes with modern technology and this car is a homage to the Bugatti Type 57S Atlantic with its smooth and sleek body shape and with a modern BMW 12-cylinder engine giving it 300hp. The interior, though styled to look vintage, is fitted with modern air conditioning, heaters, electric windows and other modern conveniences whilst retaining the flair of the 1930s. This car sold for $220,000 compared to the $40m price that the car it is based on holds.

The other large auction that RM Sotheby's hosted was the European Sale which replaced the Essen 2020 auction and featured the highly anticipated Petitjean Collection. This collection is one of the largest to ever be brought to auction with 103 lots crossing the block. Not only was it a large collection, it was also a very eclectic collection, different from many collections sold at auction which typically feature mainstream supercars and vintage cars. The first high seller was one of the most interesting new supercars being the 2020 Porsche 935 Martini. This was a car built to celebrate Porsche's 70th anniversary and to pay tribute to the Porsche 935 racing car which dominated endurance racing and, specifically, Le Mans. The modern 935 is based on the 991 Porsche GT2 RS and resembles the most famous 935 racing car, the Moby Dick, with the longtail bodywork. However it is adapted with Porsche's most successful racing cars such as the LED taillights from the 919 Hybrid LMP car as well as mirrors from the GT3 R. For a car that is track only, this car sold for a massive £1.32m, although this could be due to the fact only 77 units are being made and it is finished in the legendary martini livery. The next highest seller excluding the Petitjean Collection is a 1939 Bugatti Type 57 Cabriolet by Gangloff which sold for £770,000. It was shown on Bugatti's stand at the 1939 Geneva Motor Show and was a company demonstrator for the Bugatti works team driver Jean-Pierre Wimelle, of whom the famous tank car was named after, as well as the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse Legend Edition. It is also a one off as it is the only example bodied by Gangloff and it remained in the same ownership for 56 years before its sale. In terms of interesting lots to cross the block, I could use a whole new post to go into depth with all the rare, unique and beautiful cars offered for sale and therefore the detail will not be as thorough. The first car to catch my eye was the 1988 EuroBrun ER188 which was a Formula One team to run in the 1988 season but unfortunately did not meet the expectations of the team owners. Due to it not being a successful team, the car only sold for £89,100 although it is now painted in an attractive Jägermeister livery. The next two cars sold for exactly the same price of $49,500 and I'm torn between which I'd have. The first is a 1978 De Tomaso Longchamp which was a grand tourer from the same manufacturer as the incredible Pantera and Mangusta based on the Maserati Kyalami that it rivalled. It was never a commercial success due to the Maserati based chassis and body and only 395 examples were build. The second of these cars is a 1999 Porsche 911 Carrera Cup car which was the first generation of the Porsche Customer Racing 911s and preceded the first GT3 model. This car is not road legal however it is still an incredible investment. Moving onto the Petitjean Collection for unique cars which is certainly a definition that could be applied to the collection featuring many interesting manufacturers. A first of these is the Apal RSK 1600 Spider which is a Belgian sports car based on the VW Beetle chassis and styled to look like a Porsche 718 RSK hence the name. Following on from this there are cars such as the Bitter CD, Bizzarrini 1900 Europa, Fournier-Marcadier Barquette, Ghia 1500 GT, Ginetta G20 and G33, Intermeccanica Italia Spyder, Ligier JS2, Matra Djet and a collection of classic Lamborghini models including the Islero, Jarama, Espada and Urraco. This shows that the Petitjean collection is one of the most unique and special car collections to ever cross an auction block and there possibly won't be another collection like that to cross the block for a long time.  

Bugattis - Which have I seen?

In the same spirit as the previous posts of listing which cars of a certain manufacturer or model I have seen, we move onto one of the most prestigious names in the business, Bugatti. Founded in France in 1909, Bugatti have had a rollercoaster of a history building some of the most sought after luxury cars around, winning grand prix races and eventually becoming defunct in 1963 due to lack of funding after the deaths of both Ettore Bugatti (the founder) and his son Jean. Reborn from the ashes in 1987 under the ownership of VW, they have become what many believe to be the pinnacle creator of hypercars and supercars holding the top speed record four times in their reborn history and creating a new high for all petrolheads around the world. I have seen only eight Bugatti models of the reborn but all of them have incredibly interesting stories to go with them.

In 2017, I saw my first Bugatti which happened to be a Veyron 16.4. This was the second car Bugatti made under the VW ownership and released it in 2005 after many, many delays by VW to perfect the serum. When the car was shown in production form it created a new type of supercar as people labelled it as the world's first hypercar. It has a W engine layout which is where three or four cylinders use the same crankshaft meaning that it creates a W shape from the front. It is usually used for aircraft engines so a W layout on a car was unheard of. Much like the 8.0 quad turbo layout of this W16 engine producing 1000bhp to all four wheels, this car was revolutionary and even motoring experts such as Jeremy Clarkson and James May ridiculed it at first before realising it was truly a masterpiece. It was the first car since the McLaren F1 to hold the prestigious speed record for highest top speed of a production car at 254mph and could brake from 186mph to standstill in 17 seconds showing it was fast but very safe. Only 252 units of the original 16.4 were made and each of them cost just over £1million new. The Veyron I saw had undergone an even more expensive treatment though. It began as a standard Veyron finished in the classic two tone with blue over silver, however when the owner sold it it ended up in the hands of vehicle modification business, Oakley Design. They took the Veyron and finished it in full black carbon fibre over yellow metal flake and added yellow touches to the front grill, engine bay and rear diffuser. It also received a power upgrade to the specification of the Grand Sport with 1200bhp. It was one of the most expensive custom cars at the show it was attending (Autosport International) and the metal flake on it was simply sublime. It currently resides in Germany as the only Oakley Design Bugatti Veyron in the world as the run of  five specials was cancelled due to cost issues. It was production number 77 of the 282 run.

The next Bugatti came a year later at one of my favourite dealerships, Redline Specialist Cars in Knaresborough. Over the years, I cannot name the number of times I have visited this dealership and seen incredible cars every single time. In mid 2018, they acquired a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and that gave me the incentive to visit the dealership again. At the back of the showroom is where they typically keep all of the expensive models and as I walked in behind a black Mercedes McLaren SLR, 991.2 GT3 RS and a few Porsches under a cover, I spotted it. Once again finished in the Bugatti two tone colour scheme in black metallic over blue metallic with a cognac leather inside. I believe it was for sale for just under £800,000 and was at the dealership for little over a year and a half before it sold. It was the second Bugatti I saw and in the last two years the numbers of Bugattis I have seen has shot up. This was production number 76 of 252.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018 brought two more Bugattis to the roster of cars I have seen beginning with the third Veyron 16.4 featured in the central feature on the lawn in front of the house. In 2018, the Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrated its 25th anniversary and because of that they had one car representing each year of the Festival in a gathering. Amongst the Koenigseggs, Alfa 8Cs and McLarens, there was a Bugatti Veyron hidden in the crowds to represent, I believe 2006. Finished in the black and red two tone it is one of the standard Bugatti specs and is a very common spec on a Veyron. It currently resides in London and being perfectly honest was not a very memorable car but that's probably because it was next to a Lamborghini Reventon, Ferrari F50, Pagani Zonda 760 and a Bristol Fighter.

Next is a more unique Bugatti as it comes from a time before the Veyron. In 1993, Bugatti were their own manufacturer after Romano Artioli acquired the Bugatti title in 1987 and in 1990, they unveiled the EB110. Designed by Gandini, Bertone and Giugiaro, the EB110 named after Ettore Bugatti and the fact that it was released at the Geneva Motor Show 110 years after the birth of Ettore. In 1992, the Supersport variant of the EB110 was announced and it became the fastest car in the world with a production top speed of 221mph. The car became a classic supercar of the 1990s helped by the fact Michael Schumacher owned a yellow example of the car, giving Bugatti lots of publicity. However whilst attempting to acquire Lotus and produce the EB112, a four door EB110, Artioli fell on financial troubles and the company was bankrupt before VW bought out the Bugatti brand. The example I saw happened to be the EB110 SS at the Goodwood 2018 Cartier Style et Luxe alongside a red McLaren F1 and the only V12 Jaguar XJ220 in existence. It is owned by the internet famous Tax The Rich who created viral videos such as drifting a Ferrari Enzo around a muddy farm and playing tug of war with two Ferrari F50s. It is finished in Bianco Monaco with light grey leather interior and was originally delivered to Monte Carlo. There are images of this car in Monaco with silver wheels yet when I saw the car the wheels were black meaning that Tax The Rich changed the wheel colour which does look nicer and more unique than the original silver. It remains to be the only Bugatti EB110 I have seen and was production number 27 out of only 31 Supersports.

The next car is possibly one of the best specced Bugattis in the world. At the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed there was a line up of supercars displayed outside the drivers lounge, featuring a Lamborghini Miura, a Ferrari F40, a McLaren F1 and this certain Bugatti. It was my first of the Grand Sport Vitesse models I had seen which was a targa top version of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport and had the specifications of the SuperSport such as 1200bhp, 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds and a top speed of 258mph making it officially the fastest convertible car in the world, overtaking the Mercedes-McLaren SLR 722S at 219mph. This however was no ordinary Grand Sport Vitesse as it was the Tiffany one off. This was a car commissioned by Jiang Xin in Hong Kong in the famous Tiffany & Co 'Robin Egg' colour scheme and was therefore specified in black carbon fibre with Tiffany blue accents on the side skirts, grille, wheels and engine bay. When it was owned by the original owner in Hong Kong it only had delivery mileage on it and even when he sold it to Romans International in 2019, it still had no miles on it. The blue elements continue in the interior as many of the seat leathers and stitching is in this exorbitant colour. It was production number 48 of 92 Veyron GSVs and quite possibly the best specced example I have ever seen.

The next car may not seem the most interesting on the surface, but with the information on Exclusive Car Registry, it is one of the most interesting of all of them. It is a Veyron 16.4 which was the third 16.4 I had seen and it was on the stand of a car insurance company at Goodwood 2019 (because no other car would suffice). It is finished in another standard colour scheme of dark blue metallic over silver with a dark blue leather interior and was a very early car. When delving into the history of this car, it turns out it was the first UK delivered Bugatti Veyron and was displayed at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the supercar paddock as a Bugatti representative car. It was then registered in London on the very expensive number plate of B1 (which is now registered on a Smart Fortwo), residing in London for six years before being sent to Monte Carlo for the RM Sotheby's Monaco auction. It had an estimate of €690,000 to €790,000 but it failed to meet its estimate and failed to sell. It was then put up for sale at Tom Hartley Cars where it did sell and then was shown at Goodwood where I saw it. However this isn't the end of the story as since Goodwood it was offered in the Bonhams Bond Street sale in late 2019 when it still failed to sell, not meeting the estimate of £850,000 to £1.25million, with the value increasing due to the low chassis number. It currently is for sale at DD Classics for the asking price of £899,950 and I do not think its the last time I will see this car.

This next car is probably the most meaningful of the cars to me as I have a special memory linked to this car. It is a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport which is was the worlds fastest car with a top speed of 268mph until the Hennessey Venom GT beat it with 270mph. It was pumped up to 1200bhp and was able to do a standing quarter mile in 9 seconds which is dragster fast. This example is finished in a very unique chocolate brown with cognac/brown leather interior. It was originally delivered to Switzerland and for the next 4 years bounced around dealerships in Switzerland, Dubai and Monaco until it finally ended up at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival auction in 2018 , failing to sell at an estimate of £1.4million to £1.8million. It wasn't the only hypercar not to sell at this auction as a LaFerrari Coupe and Aperta both failed to sell. It was later spotted in Paris crossing the block yet again at the RM Sotheby's auction in the capital where it yet again failed to sell with an estimate of £1.5million to £1.7million. It was however auctioned alongside an EB110 SS, a Grand Sport Vitesse and a Chiron. Somehow in 2019 this car ended up at Redline Specialist Cars making it the second Veyron to be at Redline and meaning I could see it. My first visit it was behind ropes cordoned off so I couldn't get close but even so it had a special presence around it that it was the fastest car in the world at some stage and it was at a price that meant it was the third highest price of a car in the UK as it is currently for sale for £1,995,000. It is no longer the third highest priced but its still not cheap. The connection comes when my friend and I were doing a dealership run to celebrate his 18th and the car was out of the corner. We took out photos and spoke to the salesmen who we were friendly with when one of them asked, as it was my friend's birthday, whether they wanted a seat in any of the cars. I was hoping he'd choose the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake but he chose the Veyron. So as he was sat in it, the salesman told me to get myself in it so I sat in a near £2milllion Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, felt the wheel in my hands and felt the power even without the ignition on. It was production number 38 of only 48 cars which makes the experience even more special.

The final Bugatti I have seen is another 16.4 which is a very nice car but one feature about the car doesn't make it as special as the others as some of the prestige is taken out of the car. It was originally delivered to China and owned by someone called JC as that name was stitched into the headrests of the car. It was finished in full pearl metallic, meaning it had no two tone effect, with a dark blue leather interior. The car was then moved to Switzerland before its current owner acquired it from Coutts Automobiles in London. It was displayed at the 2020 Autosport International show in which I attended and saw what the owner had done to it. It is currently fully wrapped in red and black camo which I don't think treats the brand as it should be as it reminded me slightly of BMW i8s and Audi R8s that are wrapped to make people look at them and be envious of them when it looks fairly naff. The reason he had done it however was so that the wrap matched the same wrap that he has on his Brabus Mercedes 700 6x6, which was a modified version of the six wheeled Mercedes G-Wagon that was built in very small numbers. I was fine with the Brabus modification as it gave the car stiffer suspension, massive springs, marbled carbon fibre on the badging (much like ALA on Lamborghinis) and standard carbon fibre absolutely everywhere; and with the car standing at 6ft 8, it caused a massive scene. The wrap on the other hand is questionable as I am not a fan of them unless they look special and to me camo is just plain. This was production number 266 out of the 300 made and is the final Bugatti I have seen.


NOTE -- I have seen more Bugattis than this, however I am using Exclusive Car Registry to find the numbers and the statistics as well as the actual cars and because they do not have sections for vintage Bugattis, I have not included them.

Paganis - Which Have I Seen

Due to the lockdown, I will continue to discover how many cars of a certain model or manufacturer I have seen up to March 2020. Following the McLaren P1 document, it seems I should cover my favourite manufacturer being Pagani. First built in 1999, Pagani have been a true example of a small manufacturer taking on the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini and not going bankrupt in the process. I have had mixed luck in spotting Pagani's as at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, I saw my first Pagani alongside two others which was incredible, the presence around them was absolutely stunning and it was rare to see so many in one place. Little did I know that the day before my first day there, there had been no less than nine Pagani's in the supercar car park, along with the three I saw. The second year of Goodwood Festival of Speed I attended was the 2019 edition which happened to be the same year as Zonda20 which was to celebrate 20 years of Pagani. Pagani UK announced that on the Friday and Saturday, there would be the largest collection of Pagani's ever seen in one place. However when I arrived on the Saturday, it turns out the plan had changed and most of the cars had left to see the debut of Zonda Venti, meaning I missed them. However, there was still seven Pagani's around the grounds which was incredible to see either way. Each car I have seen will be explained with origins, special features and my overall opinion of them. It shall also be in chronological order of when I saw the cars.

The first Pagani I saw was an extremely special one being the Zonda 760 Oliver Evolution. Featured in the central feature on the lawns of Goodwood alongside one car to represent each year of the Festival of Speed, the 760 represented the 2017 festival where it first featured in the supercar paddock. It is finished in satin silver with lots of black carbon fibre body panels such as a central panel on the body and the incredibly complex double winglet. Originally this car was a Pagani Zonda S 7.3 in silver for original delivery before it was converted to Zonda F spec and was labelled as the Zonda GJ. The GJ was delivered to Edinburgh before it appeared for sale at Amian Cars in Germany. After it was sold by Amian, it was in a road traffic accident where the owner leant it to a friend and he crashed it into wrought iron fence. The owner then sent the car back to Pagani to convert into the unique 760 specification based on the LM chassis design. When it returned it sported a manual gearbox and the unique double strutted wing design along with the Cinque roof scoop. With all the custom parts to this car it is difficult to put a price on a car like this, but other Pagani Zonda 760 models have appeared at auction and both sold for way over £5million. This was definitely one of the best cars I've ever seen, and this was only the start.

The next car was the Pagani Huayra Roadster which was in the supercar paddock at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Huayra was a spiritual successor to the Zonda and featured a specially sourced twin turbocharged Mercedes AMG V12 that gave the car upwards of 700bhp and up to a top speed of 222mph, making it one of the fastest convertibles in the world. The Roadster was, as the name suggests, a roofless version of the Huayra Coupe which meant they had to change from the gullwing doors of the coupe to regular doors but the car was just as special. The example that was at the Festival of Speed was finished in matte white with a carbon black and matte blue stripe down the centre of the body, and unbelievable is owned by the same person as the Zonda 760 Oliver Evolution. It was also the first right hand drive Pagani Huayra Roadster and was number 77 out of the 100 initial production. It still remains to be the only Pagani Huayra I have seen which is a slight shame but I have always preferred the Zonda as it is a lot more raw and aspirational than the Huayra. Only a few Huayra Roadsters have crossed the auction block but the most recent was a blue carbon car which sold at RM Sotheby's Arizona for £2.37million, showing there is no cheap way to get a Pagani.

The third Pagani was positioned just to the left of the Huayra Roadster and is one of the most bespoke Pagani Zondas ever made. It is owned by the owner of Pagani, Horatio Pagani, and is one of only three which will enter production even though only one has been built, being this one. It is called the HP Barchetta because of the low screened, roofless layout of the car and the initials of the founder. It features some very unique features such as the covers on the rear wheels that cover half of the wheel with black carbon. In fact, the rims of this car is the only part of the body that is not made of carbon fibre, even with the unique blue wheels. The main body is blue carbon with black carbon accents. The interior is stunning with seats inspired by the Mercedes W196 formula one car driven by Juan Manuel Fangio. This is because Horatio Pagani is Argentinian much like Fangio so there's a connection between the two as well as the fact that the Pagani Zonda F being named after Fangio himself. This was number 1 of the three as none of the others have even started production yet but they will soon to be completed for high end customers. It was also on display at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed alongside 4 other Paganis on a special display to celebrate the Zonda.

At the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, there were a large number of Pagani's around the area of the festival and the first I saw was in the supercar paddock which was a Pagani Zonda Revolucion. This was a road legal version of the track only Pagani Zonda R and was only made in 5 examples. This one was probably the most famous of all of them as it featured on BBCs Top Gear where it lapped their famous test track in 1:08.5 which was for a long time the fastest lap although of course it was ruled out as it was in R specification at the time. It also is the car that held the Nürburgring lap record at 6.30 and it usually is housed at the Pagani Museum. It had its full track time livery with golden rims and exposed matte carbon fibre bodywork. It drew a bit of attention with an unfortunate event at the festival where it went to turn at the bottom of the hillclimb and snapped some of the delicate carbon fibre canard on a haybale. But as the car accelerated up the hill, it screamed louder than even the Ferrari FXXK and the Apollo IE. This is car number 2 of the 5 produced and it cost £2.2million before tax when it was new in 2013.

The next car was a surprise to see as it was located in the southern supercar car park seemingly isolated away from the other Ferrari Pistas and Lamborghini Aventadors. It was also very close to the start line of the hillclimb so a lot of the attention was on the cars at the start line (which at the time was contemporary Le Mans cars) rather than the beautiful car glistening in the sunlight. The car itself was a Pagani Zonda 7.3 S which was the first car to feature the slightly larger 7.3 Mercedes V12 but yet was still an early Zonda. It was a C12 chassis which was the first model of the Zonda before being replaced by the Zonda F. This example was finished in Blue Francia with a cream/blue leather interior as well as a manual gearbox which makes it even more special. It has been seen at multiple car shows across the UK as it is a UK car and is allegedly housed in London somewhere. There are some small carbon fibre touches to the car also, not as many as the 760 models but enough to make enough of an impact on the styling. There are carbon fibre surrounds on the headlamps as well as the front splitter and the double rear winglets which helped to accentuate the blue colour of it.

The final area that featured Pagani's at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed happened to be an extraordinarily incredible display of five of the most beautiful cars I have ever seen. In front of the Kinrara enclosure happened to be five Pagani's in a line. The first of these Pagani's was truly the first of these Pagani's as it was the C12 number 001, meaning it was the genesis of the name Zonda. It was the first car Pagani ever built and was shown at many, many international car shows where the car was debuted for the first time. It was later used as the crash test car for the safety regulations to be placed upon the car and remained at Pagani as a test mule. It was restored heavily for 2019 for the 20th anniversary of Pagani, repainting the car to Grigio Monte Carlo inspired by the Group C Mercedes Benz C9s and C11s. The car was then taken on a world tour to celebrate the anniversary with select Pagani's such as to Goodwood like this was but to see the origin of Pagani alongside all the upgraded versions in the evolution was truly special.

To the right of the Zonda C12 001 was the next car on the list being the Pagani Zonda F. This was the model that made me fall in love with Pagani as it was so radical in design yet so beautiful at the same time, it was the ultimate car. The F replaced the C12 model as a tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio through the F name. This example is finished in Rosso Dubai, a brilliant dark red colour which pops in the sunlight and usually resides in Italy at the Pagani Museum as the demonstrator Pagani Zonda F. It is also rumoured that this was one of Horacio Pagani's personal cars however it is now a factory car. Although this car does not feature carbon fibre like some of the other cars I have seen, it did use the factory two tone with the colour over black which gives it a special edge. I think of all the Paganis that I have seen, this has to be up there with my favourite just given that it is the model I fell in love with originally and am still in love with now. This was production number 18 of 25 Zonda Fs.

The penultimate car I have seen is by far one of the most special cars I have ever seen. In 2009, Pagani created a run of what would have been the final iteration of the Pagani Zonda, but since has not been the final run. It was known as the Cinque, meaning five in Italian, and came in a Coupe and Roadster variant with five units of each. The example that was at Goodwood was the Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster owned by famed car collector Azzurrodino that resides in the UK and is the only Zonda Cinque in the UK permanently. All the Zonda Cinque's are supposed to be finished in the white and carbon body with the red pinstripe down the centre but four of the cars are finished in unique specifications. The example at Goodwood was a white specified car and was identifiable as the Roadster as the carbon fibre roof scoop was positioned at the rear of the roof so that a panel could be removed to become the Roadster format. The fact that it's the second rarest Pagani I have seen (behind the one of one HP Barchetta and 760 Oliver Evolution) makes it an even greater spectacle but it was a shame that it was in a cordoned off area so I could only admire it from one angle. It was number 3 of the 5 Zonda Cinque Roadsters.

The final Pagani is one of the most carbon fibre heavy cars I have ever seen. It is the second Revolucion I have seen and is usually housed in the Pagani Museum in Italy and is finished in blue carbon fibre over black carbon fibre with unique tricolore front canards and once was fitted with extremely beautiful gold wheels, they were black carbon when I saw the car. The styling cues that come from the R are extremely prevalent in the Revolucion with the largest rear wing I have possibly ever seen fitted to a road legal car. It is finished with interior blue leather which contrasts with the black carbon in the bodywork and is by far one of the best specced Pagani's I've ever seen. It was number 4 of the 5 Pagani Zonda Revolucions.

McLaren P1s - Which have I seen?

Considering the coronavirus outbreak has stopped many car related events taking place as well as the ability to leave the house to go car spotting, one idea that occurred to me was to document rare cars that I have seen with information on each one. The McLaren P1 was revealed 7 years ago and yet they are still an incredible car to see. With 375 examples produced, I have been lucky enough to see six examples of the car that brought McLaren back to the supercar market.

The first McLaren P1 I saw was way back in 2016 at the Autosport International show at the NEC in Birmingham. It was the first major car show I attended and it provided a great surprise to walk around a corner and gaze upon the Autocar stand, which had on it the new Ferrari 488 GTB, an Aston Martin Vulcan (the first I'd seen) and this McLaren P1. It was finished in Ice Silver over black leather with the McLaren Orange brake calipers which added a bright element to the car. Having being originally delivered to Utrecht in Holland, this P1 was the first production McLaren P1 and was owned by a gentleman from the UK upon delivery. However he ended up leaving the car in Woking with McLaren Automotive to be kept at the McLaren Technology Centre and used for promotional purposes. It was used at the Geneva International Motor Show as a show car by McLaren in 2014 alongside the brand new McLaren 650S and 650S Spider and again at Autosport in 2016 and has resided at McLaren HQ in Woking ever since. It was number 026 out of the 375 production.

It was later that year that the second McLaren P1 was seen and once again it was at a car show. In the June of 2016, Croft Circuit held a charity car show called the Dream Car Event which offered the attendees laps of the circuit in a variety of supercars and sports cars for a bit of money. Along with this there were a few static stands such as GC Motors who are a car dealership in Harrogate who brought a Ford GT and a few Porsches. However the main static stand was the Gibson Motorsport stand who had a motorsport section that comprised of a Radical SR8, a McLaren 650S GT3 and a McLaren P1 GTR, which later did laps of the circuit, as well as a road car section. The road car section was where the P1 was housed alongside a Porsche 918. It is number 058 out of the 375 production run and was finished in Supernova Silver over a black interior which was a very similar spec to the previous one which led me to believe it was the same one. However, the Autosport car had silver wheels and this example had gloss black rims and red brake calipers which made the difference slightly clearer. It was last known to be in the possession of McLaren Glasgow at their showroom.

The third P1 came little over 3 years later in 2019 at the 2019 Autosport International Show at the NEC where I first saw a P1. This car was on the stand of a car show website alongside a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and sadly was cordoned off in order to keep it safe from the public but luckily it had its dihedral doors open so there were good angles of the car available to see. The car was finished in Volcano Orange which was the P1 launch spec and it had black alcantara interior with Volcano Orange piped stitching on the seats. This car was the first I saw to have influence by MSO which is the McLaren Special Operations division that add certain new elements to the car in this case such as the satin carbon fibre front and rear bumpers, carbon fibre rear wing, carbon fibre stealth badging and lots of carbon fibre inside the car. This car has a decent amount of history to it as it was originally sold by McLaren Manchester when it was first delivered and later appeared at Romans International in Banstead, where it appeared for sale for over £1million and is currently for sale at Coutts Automobiles in London where it resides. This is number 059 of the 375 production and was the best specced one I'd seen up until the next one I saw.

The fourth P1 came only 5 months later at the Bella Auto Supercar Show held at Bywell Hall near Newcastle and was by far the best specced McLaren P1 I had and still have ever seen. The Bella Auto show always provided surprises in the two years I visited such as having a Ferrari F50, Singer 911, Porsche 918 and two different Carrera GTs, yet the P1 made all of those seem as if they were nothing. Finished in a Musgravite Black Carbon Fibre, it was originally a standard painted body P1 but the owner re-specced the car in this carbon fibre purple colour which looked absolutely incredible. The interior was also stunning with grey alcantara and orange stitching to match what the car had on the engine. The carbon fibre engine was signed by Frank Stephenson who was the designer of the P1 which is a unique touch that makes the car even more special. The current owner has a 675LT in a similar spec as well as owning Senna #007. It has later been slightly changed again with an orange pinstripe running down the side of the car to match the orange brake calipers. I doubt I'll ever see another P1 in an as amazing spec as this one. This is number 350 of the 375 production.

The next P1 came at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed only 1.5 months after the previous P1 and was a very important P1 as this is one of the ones that McLaren retains for promotional use much like the original P1 I saw. This was P1 OOU which is the plate which is recognised as a Volcano Yellow car built at the end of the P1 production as a promotional car used for test drives in magazines such as Autocar, Road and Track and Octane. This was at Goodwood with McLaren to celebrate the launch of the new Senna GTR as well as the GT, 600LT Spider and 720S Spider and was quite a surprise to see as it was not listed as being among the supercar paddock in the programme. Given that this car was built at the end of the P1 production run, it is likely that this car is number 375 out of the 375 production making it the last production car. However it is in truth number 454 out of the 375 as it includes P1 GTR chassis, P1 GT chassis and the P1 LM chassis, meaning it is beyond the standard production series.

The latest P1 I have seen came at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed along with my 5th P1 prior. It came as a slight surprise as it was on a trade stand which wouldn't have been expected to have a P1. However it was the GVE London stand which in 2018 had a GT2 RS, AMG GTR, Porsche 956 and a Koenigsegg CCX-R Edition so I was expecting something special. So coming around the corner to the stand, I was shocked to see an MSO McLaren 675LT Spider, a Ferrari Enzo and this very special P1. Finished in Volcano Yellow with a black leather alcantara interior with yellow stitching, this car was fairly similar to the previous Volcano Yellow example that was situated less than a kilometre from this stand. This car also has a very interesting history as it was delivered new to Jakarta in Indonesia as the owner owned the McLaren dealership in Jakarta and acquired all of the P1 allocations for Jakarta. It was later sold to Tom Hartley Cars in Ashby De La Zouche where it was later sold to Amari Supercars in Preston and later to TH Boler in Oxfordshire. It then underwent one more sale to GVE London where it is currently for sale for just over £1.2million. The car only has 204 miles on the odometer and is number 049 of the 375 production.

Additional Cars

In 2015, McLaren released the ultimate version of the McLaren P1, being the GTR form. This was a track only, extreme car with almost 1000bhp and slick tyres. With 55 examples created, it was an extremely rare form of the standard P1 and with a £2million price, it was an extremely expensive version of the P1. I have seen a few examples of a P1 GTR as well as the even rarer P1 LM and P1 GT which are detailed below.

The first P1 GTR that I saw was at Autosport International 2016 which is where the first P1 road car was also located. Based on the Octane magazine stand, the stand was being unveiled as we arrived and it showed the T2 chassis P1 GTR. It wore a Harrods inspired livery based on the same livery worn by the F1 GTR in 1995. It is also the McLaren P1 GTR that is kept at Woking at the McLaren Technology Centre. It changed livery in 2016 to have a special James Hunt inspired livery but now it has returned to the Harrods livery. It is unknown which production number this P1 GTR is, however it is the example shown in the original press shots when the P1 GTR was announced and therefore it could be production number 2 out of the 55. It has the T2 chassis so this makes a slight amount of sense.

The second P1 GTR was at the same event but I later saw it at the Dream Car Event at Croft Circuit where it took laps of the track. It is owned by Gibson Motorsport which is based in the northern town of Darlington and is finished in a white and red livery to match Gibson's 650S GT3 and Radical race cars. It has also been seen at the JPC Prestige and High Performance Car Show in both 2017 and 2018 on the Gibson stand. This was good to see static at Autosport but was taken to the next level racing around Croft Circuit, hearing the 986bhp twin turbo V8 rumbling around the circuit and racing ahead of a fully fledged GT3 car, pulling away which showed the level of its speed and performance. This car is number 9 of the 55 production run.

The next P1 GTR has a very interesting story behind it. It was originally delivered to Paris in a satin black livery in 2016 where the owner participated in only one track event at Circuit de Paul Ricard and at the end of their ownership had put 350 miles on the odometer. The owner later sent the car to Lanzante in the UK who, for £24,000, road legalised the GTR so that it can be used on the roads rather than just on the track. This is when it was sent to auction via RM Sotheby's in their Villa Erba auction in 2017. It had an estimate of £3.2million-£3.6million and later failed to reach it's estimate and therefore failed to sell. The car then privately changed hands and was taken back to Lanzante for a special project which would convert the cars body into a longer, more streamlined version of the P1 GTR known as the GT. It referenced the F1 GT which was built in very limited numbers as a homologated version of the F1 GTR Longtails that raced in Le Mans. I saw this car on its debut at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed and it was finished in the same paint that was used on the original F1 GTs. It was an extremely cool car to see and although I didn't see the car on the hillclimb, it was nice to just look at and admire. It originally was number 33 of the 55 production and was the 12th GTR to have the Lanzante road legal treatment.

The final P1 GTR I have seen is not technically a P1 GTR as it was a version created by Lanzante based on the P1 GTR chassis known as the LM. It was a run of 5 GTRs that were lightened, with some elements of the GT and with road legality without conversion making it the ultimate version of the road legal McLaren P1. Of the five cars, there was one made in the colour UenoClinic grey which was the same colour as the McLaren F1 GTR 01R that won Le Mans in 1995 as a tribute to that very car. It was this one that I saw at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed on a small stand in front of a VIP section alongside an Aston Martin Vulcan test mule, a Porsche 911 GT2 RS and a Dodge Challenger Demon. It made its debut at the Festival of Speed in 2016 when it raced up the Goodwood hillclimb in 47.07 seconds which can be seen as ludicrously fast for a road car. This example was number 1 of the 5 production cars. 

The Extraordinary Story of McLaren

McLaren Automotive have become a household name in recent times for their sports/supercar range that seems to get larger and larger by the year. What is truly remarkable is that this growth has come over the span of around 9 years, from a range having a single model to the multi-stranded model range they have today. People often wonder how on earth they managed this almost instant success taking on the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini, but their car development began much earlier than people might think.

The Past

In 1992, Gordon Murray came up with the concept of a McLaren road car that would blow the top speed record out of the water, and after Ron Dennis backed the project, the McLaren F1 was born. Built around the 6.5l BMW V12, the famous XP5 prototype with no rev limiter did exactly what they wanted it to do as it hit a top speed of 240.1mph, destroying the previous record held by the Jaguar XJ220 at 217mph. Due to the notable success of the F1 and the rarity of it (106 cars total), it has widely been regarded as one of the greatest cars of all time with owners such as George Harrison, Elon Musk, Rowan Atkinson and the Sultan of Brunei who acquired 10 of the 106 F1s. In order to buy a good road F1 now will cost upwards of £10million as its legacy has shot up the value from the original price of £540,000. The F1 legacy was not just made up of road cars as the GTR programme was an incredible motorsport success. By request of many motorsport teams, McLaren made 28 F1 GTRs to race in a multitude of racing series including the 24h of Le Mans which it won in 1995 with cars amazingly finishing 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 13th among a class of purpose built racing cars. Many F1 GTRs have now been converted to road use including the LARK GTR. Due to the success at Le Mans, McLaren created five special editions of the F1 known as the LM which included the UenoClinic winning car, and it was used as a road legal version of the GTR. This was followed by the F1 HDK which was a high downforce kit that owners could put on their F1 to replicate the visual elements of the F1 GTR, only two cars are known to have the HDK kit and one of which sold at auction for £19.85m. The final incarnation of the F1 was the F1 GT which was built as a homologation special for the GT1 category, which was a longtail version of the regular F1. The F1 GTR Longtail is suggested to be the greatest looking car of all time to race, especially in liveries such as Parabolica, Lark and FINA. Due to GT1 rules at the time, a certain number of road legal versions of race cars have to be produced in order for the car to be allowed to race in the series which is where we get such cars as the Mercedes CLK GTR, the Porsche 911 GT1 and the Nissan R390. McLaren built only three F1 GTs, one of which resides at McLaren in Woking, another in the Sultan of Brunei's collection of 10 and the other in a hidden collection in Japan. The F1 really was the genesis of McLaren cars but another car didn't emerge from McLaren for another 11 years.

In 2011, McLaren decided to finally mass produce a new supercar to succeed the F1. They produced the MP4-12C which later just became known as the 12C, which focused on McLaren's obsession with weight saving, much like Colin Chapman's approach at Lotus. The design was carried out entirely in house which led to the car having a beautiful styled body made of some of the lightest materials such as magnesium beams in the car and the chassis being made of carbon fibre making the whole underpinning of the car weigh only 80kg. Powered by a 3.8l twin turbo V8, the 12C took the supercar game by storm taking on the Ferrari 458 and the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, accelerating to 60mph in 2.9 seconds which is 0.4 seconds faster than the 458 and 0.5 seconds faster than the Lamborghini. The top speed was on top as well, with a speed of 205mph compared to 202mph for both the 458 and the Gallardo. McLaren originally aimed to build around 700 coupes and later created an extra 600 convertible variants. The list price of it was around £170k which was a similar price to the rivals but provided a massive dent to the supercar market.

In 2013, McLaren had a small cult following and made its mark on the hypercar market, much like the F1 twenty years prior. Around this time, Ferrari and Porsche were launching their hybrid hypercars and McLaren decided they wanted to create a car to outshine the two greatest sports car manufacturers of all time. It was called the P1 and was the first of the three to make production and set a new standard for performance and handling. It used the same 3.8l twin turbo V8 as the 12C however somehow they managed to get 727bhp from it, as well as adding a 176bhp electric motor to bring the total to a staggering 903bhp. The 0-60 time was around 2.7 seconds and the top speed was electronically limited to 217mph though McLaren claimed it could reach 250mph if the restrictor was removed. It really made an impact on the hypercar world that the later released Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 had a fierce challenger, and this car was the car that put McLaren back on the market. Since the original launch, there have been some iterations of the 375 original P1s such as the GTR which was a track only version of the P1 with only 40 examples. There has also been the LM created by Lanzante, who road legalise F1 GTRs and P1 GTRs, which is based on 5 P1 GTR chassis but with the exception of standard road legality. In 2018 there was a single P1 GT created which was a longtail version of the standard P1 also created by Lanzante. There is no doubt however that the P1 was the cornerstone of the rebirth of McLaren.

At this stage in development, McLaren had two series for their cars being the super series and the ultimate series which separated the 12C and the P1 from each other. Since the creation of these two series, McLaren finally replaced the P1 and in 2014 gave the motoring world the 650S. Combining design elements of both the P1 and the 12C, this allowed for a better handling car as well as a faster car with the top speed rising to 207mph. This was later followed by a Spider version which was seen to be a bit fatter and heavier which affected the handling capabilities but was still a great success for McLaren. The 650S was also the car that gave McLaren possibly their best handling road car of all time, the 675LT. This was essentially a track focused version of the 650 but a road legal one meaning it was McLarens most driver oriented car around. The LT also refers to the F1 GTR LT as mentioned prior to show its prowess on the track. Limited to 500 coupes and 500 spiders and with a £60k price increase over the 650S it could have been considered overpriced. However winning multiple car of the year awards and staggering performance figures have reinforced the idea that this is was the best McLaren ever made at the time. The 650S also provided other limited series cars with the introduction of the 650S Can-Am created to celebrate 50 years since McLaren's first Can-Am race, limited to 50 units, the 650S Le Mans which was finished in the same grey as the 1995 Le Mans winning F1 GTR also limited to 50 units and the MSO HS which was a completely bespoke product created for 25 lucky individuals that featured many unique visual elements such as a fixed rear wing and fixed splitters.

The Present

McLaren had officially taken off at this stage, but as their cheapest car was the 650S at £195,000, McLaren felt they were missing out on a market being dominated by Porsche GT3s and Ferrari Californias and therefore in 2015 the sports series was created with the launch of the 570S. A smaller sports car, the 570S was slightly slower than the super series cars but at 'only' £143,000, the 570S was seen to be a perfect budget supercar. It features the nose of the P1 but an entirely new rear end design which creates a streamlined body for the car. It was greeted with more raving reviews which finally cemented McLaren as one of the best supercar manufacturers of the 2010s and indeed in the world. The 570S was later followed by the 570GT which featured a softer suspension, more storage space and an overall more practical feel to it as well as what was labelled as the 'baby McLaren' being the 540C. This used all of the technical features of the 570S but dropped the price down to £125,000 meaning it was the cheapest new McLaren ever launched and it rivalled the Aston Martin Vantage and Porsche 911 Turbo rather than the more high end supercars that the 570S rivalled. The 570S was later given the spider treatment as well as the limited series treatment with the MSO X. Created by taking 10 regular 570Ss and customising them to a similar spec as the 570S GT4 racing car, it remains to be one of the rarest bespoke McLarens ever made. Much like the 650S, the 570S has a longtail version of it known as the 600LT. This follows from its spiritual predecessor, the 675LT, brilliantly as once again it smashed all rivals out of the park. It also featured a first on modern cars being the top mounted exhausts which exited the car via two pipes above the engine which allowed for 50-50 weight distribution and for the car to be even more aerodynamic than the 675LT. Unlike the 675LT however this car is not limited in terms of production numbers so the coupe and the spider are still being produced now.

This is where the McLaren story begins to deplete as the test mules for the next two cars had similar issues that the exhaust residue would build up and eventually the car would catch fire. This created a negative outlook and suddenly it was a stereotype that all McLarens would catch fire if they were bought. All this negative press led to a slight decrease in sales but when the next models came around, that problem soon disappeared. The latest McLaren replaced the 650S after 3 years of production and was known as the 720S. The 720S was held up to be one of the most pivotal cars in McLaren's very short history as the car was labelled to be 90% new compared to the outgoing 650S but they obviously didn't change the way it performed on track. Clocking at 7m 08secs around the Nürburgring Nordschliefe, it was thrown into the deep end to have a very similar time to the AMG GTR Pro and the 488 Pista that it would rival. The design provided a new front end and a fairly new rear end that premiered the 'Monocage II' carbon tub chassis that would be used on later McLaren models, but the one element about the 720S that makes it what it is, is the way it feels. When at slow speeds it was comfortable and didn't feel like a 720hp, 212mph track monster. But when it was opened up on a track, it handled like a GT3 car due to the incredible power to weight ratio that allows for a 0-60mph sprint of 2.9 seconds and it feels incredibly smooth through the corners. It is one of McLaren's best cars yet, and with the Spider released around a year ago, McLaren managed to smash it out of the park yet again. Recently a longtail version of the 720S was announced to be called the 765LT which, when it releases, potentially could be even better than the 600/675LT.

Senna is a name, that when mentioned alongside McLaren, provides many people with memories of the greatest God-given talent ever to grace Formula One. Ayrton Senna was a true legend of the sport, winning three world championships with McLaren and always being the highlight of the field. From the Lap of the Gods that took him from 5th on the grid to 1st in the opening lap, a feat still unheard of, let alone in the wide and hard-to-drive 1990s Formula One cars. Senna was on his way to a fourth world championship in 1994 when the championship came to Imola, one of the hardest and fastest tracks in the world. After Roland Ratzenberger was tragically killed in a qualifying accident, Senna protested that the race should be cancelled but the race went ahead as planned. On lap 7, Senna's Williams left the racing line on the Tamburello corner at 191mph and hit the concrete barrier wall. After Sid Watkins (FIA medical chief) extracted Senna from his car and took him to hospital, Senna tragically died in what Murray Walker described as the 'darkest day' he could remember. McLaren Automotive as a tribute to the great man, named their latest track beating ultimate series car the Senna. With controversial aesthetics, the Senna was faster than the McLaren P1 and even the GTR variant with epic downforce, 800bhp and a top speed of 211mph. This plus a 1200kg curb weight, makes the Senna one of the fastest cars of the 2010s. It will sprint to 60 in only 2.6 seconds making it the fastest accelerating McLaren of all time, only excluding racing cars. The price was fairly hefty at £750k but for all that performance and only 500 units to be made, the price may have been justified. McLaren later released the track only Senna GTR with 814bhp, 1000kg of downforce and only 75 made at a price of £1.3m each. McLaren stated that it was the fastest lapping McLaren of all time only being surpassed by Formula One cars.

The Future

Having made a massive mark on the supercar scene, McLaren decided to expand their range in order to appeal to a wider target market without having to build an SUV like Maserati and Lamborghini. The GT was launched to be what it said in the name, a grand tourer, and was built to rival the Bentley Continental GT, Mercedes AMG GT63S and the Ferrari GTC4 Lusso. Based on a 720S platform, the GT has rounded aesthetics and a four seat (only just) interior. But just because this is meant to be a practical car, doesn't mean any of the performance has been lost. With 620hp it is not as powerful as the 720S but it was not meant to beat lap records, it was meant for late night coastal driving along the French Riviera. With a fairly reasonable £163k price tag compared to the £230k price of the Ferrari and the £170k price of the Bentley, it is certainly another class. This was the first of the new class of car that McLaren will be producing for the next 5 years or so.

The latest edition of the McLaren Ultimate Series will be a homage to the McLaren F1 and will be absolutely breath-taking. The car will be named the Speedtail and will be one of the most aerodynamically efficient cars ever built as it was built entirely for aerodynamics and speed, to achieve similar speeds to the F1. When taken to an airfield for testing, the Speedtail consistently hit 250mph 'easily' which shows the immense power and drive this car has. It will feature a hybrid powertrain with upwards of 1050bhp making it the most powerful McLaren of all time as well as the fastest. The car shows its true resemblance to the F1 as it features the same interior layout as the original with a central driving position and two passenger seats either side of the driver. It also will have 106 units made, the total of F1s made (including GTRs, GTs, LMs and LTs). All the cars have already been sold at £2m each but for all this heritage it will be worth it. I have only seen the prototype but it had so much of a presence that I know it will be a success.

The final car McLaren have on their horizons is the Elva. The Elva is McLaren's entry into the Speedster market which has become a trend in the last year or so, to release a car with no roof to homage previous models. Aston Martin began with their Vanquish Zagato Speedster which was one of 28. Now Ferrari have their Monza SP1 and SP2, Bentley have their Bacalar, the Porsche 911 Speedster, Aston Martin's V12 Speedster and the McLaren Elva. Built to tribute the Can-Am cars of the 1970s such as the McLaren M1A, M1B and M1C, the Elva has the front nose of the new Speedtail and features the same performance figures as the Senna, but with no roof or windscreen. Not many details have been released about the Elva as of yet but there will be 399 units and there has already been one shown to be in the orange livery of the 1967 McLaren M6A built by MSO.

Conclusion

The rise of McLaren has therefore been fairly instantaneous and the progress can only get faster and faster. They are beginning to regain their prowess in Formula One after many years of sorry performances, they have entered IndyCar with Fernando Alonso being one of their drivers, their GT3 programme is winning the most in its history with the 720S GT3 and their road cars are more incredible than ever. I can safely predict that McLaren will be a force to be reckoned with in the future much like they are now.

(Top Left - Speedtail, Top Right - 600LT Spider, Bottom Left - P1, Bottom Right - GT)

What is the best classic car in the world?

This is one of the most common questions to bounce around the car community as it changes based on trends and fashions. The title of the best classic car in the world is often put down to the best classic car of all time, a title which is often given to cars such as the Porsche 911, Jaguar E-Type and the Ferrari 250 GTO. However, this title is given by Peninsula Classics who are behind all eight Concours D'Elegance that take place worldwide each year, and the best classic car is given to the best of all of the 'Best in Show' cars. This article will cover the 8 nominees before announcing what is officially, the best classic car in the world. 

The first nominee was the 1948 Talbot Lago T26 GS Fastback Coupe which won the Salon Prive Concours event held at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. First displayed in 1947, this car is one of 12 made in the first production year of Talbot Lago and was one of the fastest cars at the time at 124mph. However, the Grand Sport (GS) was different to other Talbot cars as each model was built to the specification of the customer and therefore each of the bodies were built by a specialist coachbuilder. The coachbuilder for this chassis was Figoni et Falaschi, the same coachbuilder who would later commission the incredibly beautiful T150 'Teardrop' Coupe, giving the car an elegant blue body. This car underwent a full restoration prior to the Concours event and beat a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost and an Alfa Romeo 6C Gran Sport to the prestigious 'Best in Show' award. 

Next up is the winner of the Amelia Island Concours D'Elegance which was the 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn-Kurier. This is rumoured to be one of only two produced on the very limited 540K production run. It was commissioned to be used on the newly opened Autobahn motor network. The car was bought by its original owners when they saw the car's twin at the Paris Motor Show and toured from Spain to North Africa, travelling between Libya and Egypt before shipping to Greece and touring through Austria and Switzerland. It remained in the ownership of this family up until 2003 when it was bought by current owner Jim McManemon, who sent it for a full restoration. It has previously won Concours events but this is the first time it was awarded the 'Best in Show' award. 

In Palm Beach, Florida there is a car show seemingly made for fans of the prancing horse of Ferrari. Some of the rarest and most prestigious Ferraris of all time from 250 SWBs to F40s and the final three 335s to exist. The show also featured the most expensive car to sell at auction in the form of the Ferrari 250 GTO and the only bronze coloured Ferrari 250 GT California Spider ever made. However, the car that won the 'Best in Show' award was the 1958 Ferrari (surprise) 335S Spyder. Being one of only three surviving models, this car is exceptionally rare and as pretty as it is rare. First raced in 1959 but sent back to Italy after a blown engine but it was too costly to fix, so was returned to its home in the US and stored in a warehouse for a year before being bought for only $900. After it was bought it was restored with an original engine, and driven at the Le Mans 50th Anniversary celebrations. It went to auction in 1990 but didn't sell and was later sold for just over £5million. In a rare public appearance, it won the best in show award alongside the other two remaining 335Ss. 

The next event was the Cartier Style et Luxe which was held at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed and therefore was an event I attended. The field was scattered with the most pristine classics that included a Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic, an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Bentley R Types and even an Aston Martin Lagonda. However, to my surprise, none of these won the 'Best in Show' and the actual title went to the subtle and fairly cute Abarth 205 Monza. I saw this car and did the typical thing to take a photo, have a little look around and then leave. However, I should have had a read of the plaque besides it as it turns out this little Italian coupe is one of only three produced and has very little information known about it, but the rarity and style speaks for itself. It is a shame because this car was not looked at as much as maybe it should have been and I for one, regret not spending more time looking at it. 

I admit the final cars that won best in show, I know even less about than the previous cars. The only option is to simply list the cars and what shows they won their best in show award before getting to the answer of what is the best classic car in the world. At the 2019 Chantilly Arts & Elegance Richard Mille, the overall best in show went to the 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Foursome Coupe, the Hampton Court Palace best in show went to the 1919 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost Torpedo Skiff, the Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance winner was the 1931 Bentley 8 Litre Dual Cowl Tourer and finally at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering, the winner of best in show went to the 1931 Stutz DV32 Convertible Victoria.

So what is the best classic car in the world? Well the judges at Peninsula Classics decided that the best classic car to win a best in show award this year was the 1958 Ferrari 335S due to its rarity, exceptional quality and exorbitant price tag. It'll be interesting to see what the Concours events of this year gives us to rival what is officially the best classic in the world.  

Multi-Million Cars Headed to Auction

I may have missed out on covering the incredible Amelia Island auctions of the past few weeks however there are a few auctions upcoming with some incredibly rare and expensive cars in them. A majority of the auctions are centred around the Retromobile Paris car event but one auction, not for another few months, cannot be ignored for the sheer quality of the first 16 lots announced.

First up is the RM Sotheby's auction to take place in Paris on the 5th February. The most expensive estimate for a lot is the 1955 Jaguar D-Type, a Le Mans legend owned by the winner of the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans, Richard Attwood. This example is the seventh customer car produced with an extensive racing history. Predominantly it raced in Australia with its original owner, before changing hands a multitude of times until it became under the care of the current owner. The estimate for this car is between €5.9million and €6.4million, however it is estimated to go beyond that value. The second significant lot is the 2015 Lamborghini Veneno Roadster. This is the second Veneno to come to auction in the space of 6 months as the cream Roadster from the collection of the seized politician sold for £6.7million, however this car is slightly more famous. This comes from the collection of a member of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family who spent this summer in London with his 7 hypercars including this car. Built to celebrate 50 years of Lamborghini, the Veneno's dramatic, pointy shape symbolises the ethos of the mad, flamboyant Italian manufacturer. This example has 450km from new and an incredible spec of matte black with green accents. As the second of the nine built, this has an estimate of €4.5million to €5.5million. Besides these two superb lots also being sold are a Ferrari Daytona Spider, BMW 507, Porsche 904 Carrera GTS, Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Alfa Romeo 6C, Bugatti Type 57 Stelvio, Gemballa Mirage GT and a beautiful Delahaye 135 Roadster.

The Bonhams Paris auction focuses mostly around the vintage and classic cars, however the rarity of some of them are beyond belief. The headliner is the 1966 Ferrari 206 SP Dino which is one of 18 of these beauties made for Can-Am racing originally. This is chassis 022 with all original components and a full racing history. Although I do not know much about the classic cars as I do the modern cars, I can appreciate the value of this car and the history it has. Although no estimate is given on this car, other examples have sold for €2million+ before now. The next car that caught my eye in this auction was a little further down in terms of value but still a superb car. The car in question is the 2016 Zagato Mostro Coupe. Zagato are mainly known for offering their coach built versions of other cars predominantly Aston Martins but occasionally Ferraris and Bentleys. This car however is built entirely by Zagato for Maserati's centenary, based on the styling of the 1957 Maserati 450S. Powered by the same 4.2 V8 fitted to the Granturismo and with a beautiful carbon fibre body, the Mostro is one of five built. The original vendor price was just over €1million when it was first launched however the current sale of it has the top estimate at €900,000 which is a slight shock. Due to the auction being in Paris, there is a high amount of French cars going under the hammer, specifically Bugatti's. These cars range from the 1913 Bugatti Type 13 Sports with a price range of €240,000 top estimate, to the incredibly beautiful 1931 Type 55 which has a top estimate of €4million. There are also two Type 57s, a Type 39 Grand Prix, a Type 40 and a Type 23. Other significant lots include a Mercedes 300SL Roadster, the new Stratos in an Alitalia livery, two Mercedes 540Ks, a Mercedes 500K and, a personal favourite, an Alfa Romeo 75 IMSA.

Artcurial have the final auction in Paris and has an overall greater auction for me, as not only do they have some massive sellers and lower down in the prices, some incredible supercars. The star of the show in this case is the 1929 Mercedes Benz 710 SS Grand Touring which looks absolutely beautiful, one of the true great shapes of grand tourers. The elegant body is not the only attractive feature of this Mercedes as it is a multiple concours winner, it is in immaculate condition and has a very prestigious Mercedes-Benz Klassiche recommendation which suggests that it is a clear cut classic. Due to all these factors, it has a top estimate of €8million, but the small print below the lot suggests it could go for even more. The next lot worth pointing out is the 1965 Ferrari 275GTB/6C which looks absolutely stunning and has a very rich history. This is estimated to be the most highly raced 275 in history which only adds more value to an already valuable car. A regular 275 GTB can go at auction for up to €1 million. However with this much racing history, this car has a top estimate of €3million. Continuing the racing theme somewhat, there are a lot of unique and interesting racing cars going under the hammer including a former David Brabham Jaguar XJ220C, a Cosworth powered Rondeau M378, a former Rene Arnoux Ferrari 126 F1 car, a racing De Tomaso Pantera, an Alpine A110 hillclimb car, a Chevron B60 and an Alfa Romeo Junior. Along with these racing cars, there is a good mix of modern and retro supercars in this auction with some including a Lamborghini Murcielago, Ferrari 599 GTB, Venturi 400 GT, Mercedes McLaren SLR, Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, Lamborghini Diablo VT, Ford GT and a Ferrari 430 Scuderia 16M Spider. This auction is an incredibly interesting one which will be fun to watch.

The final auction is not for a few months but I couldn't help not mentioning it. The Passion of a Lifetime auction will be held by Gooding & Co in London on April 1st. Although there are only 16 lots as of yet announced, the top estimate of them all combined is over £55million, meaning that they are all supremely iconic and top of the line for classic car connoisseurs. The first lot is a Bentley 3 Litre Tourer which is a vintage sports car produced in 1927 and has an estimate of £400,000 as a top estimate. Next is a 1971 Lamborghini Miura P400 SV Speciale which is a limited version of the already superbly beautiful Miura. This car is finished in Champagne Gold and is one of only two cars finished in this spec therefore has a £2million estimate. Another of the top cars is a Bugatti Type 57C Atlante which is highly anticipated as the last time one of these came to auction it became the most expensive French car to sell at auction. This, along with an estimate of 'upwards of £7million' makes this a highlight. Not the only Bugatti to have the 'in excess of..' estimate as they have a Type 59 in excess of £10million and a Type 35C in excess of £3million. Some other significant lots include an Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Aston Martin Ulster, Lancia Flaminia, Lancia Aurelia, Lamborghini 350GT and an Aston Martin DB3S. It is not yet known whether these will be the only cars in this auction but even so it is of such high quality it may not matter.