“La Macchina del tempo – Museo Storico Alfa Romeo” is the
heart of a genuine “brand center”, with a bookshop, café,
Documentation Center, test drive track, events venues and a
show-room with a customer delivery area: it is the perfect bond
between past, present and future. In Arese, next to Milan city
center and the Expo area. |
Hans Herrmann, one of the most successful and popular racing
drivers to join the Porsche AG works team, will be celebrating his
90th birthday this year on February 23. The endurance and
Monoposto specialist, born in Stuttgart in 1928, is regarded as
one of the most reliable and consistent race drivers of all time. In
the course of his motor sport career, Hans Herrmann won more
than 80 overall and best of class victories, most of them for
Porsche. |
The Museo Lamborghini is situated to the right of the main
entrance of the factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, which is a
historic small town in the countryside, approximately mid way
between Bologna and Modena. A bonus of its location right on
the factory premises is that one will see cars being taken out on
test, and maybe even spot the odd prototype. The factory is on
the main SP 255, Via Modena, on the outskirts of the town, but
within walking distance of the historic centre, and is still the site
on which Ferruccio Lamborghini established the original factory in
1963. |
Ferrari 1970 Ferrari 512 M s/n 1002 sold for €12,0mio in August |
Already more then 1.000.000+ images from the barchetta /
anamera image archive were published, the images contain
chassis numbers, |
This time of the year, at the end of the season with the next one
just around the corner it is time to look back over the year and
the events one did attend. It is also the time to see what did not
make it online in time due to a packed schedule but could well
serve to get over the cold days until the classic cars are back on
the road for new adventures. |
Ferrari opens its first Tailor Made Center in the United States
today in New York City. The only space of its kind in the
Americas, this new Center continues the long-standing tradition
of car customization and personalization that began at the factory
in Maranello in the 1950s and later grew into the inception of the
Tailor Made Center in 2011, followed by the Shanghai Tailor Made
Center in 2014. |
The latest edition of the Classic Car Auction Yearbook,
sponsored by Credit Suisse for the eleventh successive year,
covering the period 01 September 2018 to 31 August 2019, as in
recent years was unveiled at the Auto e Moto d’Epoca Show in
Padova by the authors Adolfo Orsi and Raffaele Gazzi. As with
the previous four editions, the end of August cut-off date means
that the results from all the major auctions in Monterey,
California, during that month, can be incorporated as they are the
most up to date indication of the way the market is moving and
prices being achieved. |
The 2019 running of the 2019 Daytona 24 Classic provided both
participants and visitors with a packed racing programme
between Wednesday 13 November and Sunday 17 November,
with, apart from all the practice and qualifying sessions, a sixteen
race programme. This ran surprisingly well, despite a number of
full course yellows, and rather chilly and sometimes misty
weather conditions over the main 24 race schedule on the
Saturday and Sunday. |
Sixty years ago, the 5000 GT, a 2+2 coupé, was presented at
the Turin Motor Show and was the undisputed star of the event. |
The main current themed exhibition running at the Museo Ferrari
in Maranello is titled Hypercars (L’Evoluzione Dell’Unicita/The
Evolution of Uniqueness), the name being self explanatory. It
shows the journey of Ferraris limited production, ultimate
performance through from the GTO (288) of 1984, through the
F40, F50 and Enzo, to the current LaFerrari and its track-only
evolution, the FXX-K Evo. Also included in the line-up is a styling
mannequin of the unique P80/C, constructed as part of the
company’s special projects operation. |
I have often seen cars from the Museo Nicolis at classic car
shows, and have also been recommended to visit the museum,
but time constraints when travelling in Italy have always kept it on
the “to do” list. However, during a recent visit, whilst returning to
Verona airport I found the time to make a visit, and thus at long
last put a tick in the box. |
The car as a work of art exceeding the original purpose of
transportation dates back a long time. What started with the
numerous Concours of Elegance showing the beauty of the
Automobile Design in the 1930s during the high of the coachbuilt
luxury car became a common approach by some to the theme of
classic cars today. Many cars share their home in collections of
connoisseurs who also have a major interest in art and design.
The design of a motor car in the world of art is not only accepted
since cars like the Cisitalia 202 made their way into the
permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in
New York but already since the early 1950s when the MOMA
started the first exhibition of cars with “Eight Automobiles” paying
tribute to the influence of car design to the modern society. |
The 58th edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona was held over the
weekend of 25 – 26 January, held in fine dry conditions, after
chilly and damp weather on the Wednesday and Thursday
during the practice sessions, definitely much more amenable
than the torrential rain of the 2019 edition. It was preceded by
the 4 Hour BMW Endurance Challenge Race, part of the IMSA
Michelin Pilot Challenges Series, on the Friday afternoon,
together with the first two rounds of the Ferrari Challenge North
America Series, both evening races on the Thursday and
Friday, the first of which was the only race to be run on a wet
track. |
An annual appointment, that of Enzo Ferrari’s birthday on 18
February, becomes yet again the occasion for a new exhibition at
the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena. “Ferrari Grand Tour, a
journey through beauty and passion” celebrates the international
vocation and boundless fame of a marque that has dominated the
world scene with unparalleled styling of its cars from the very
early days. |
It has been a while since we last reported on an international
event, more precisely it was March with the Amelia Island
Concours. Since then a lot of events had to be cancelled or
postponed to next year due to the current situation. Many
organizers took the decision early on, others tried to get through
until the last possible moment in order to make all the efforts
worth spent over the last 12 months. Daily new cancellations
were reported making planning not only for the entrants and
organizers, but also for the visitors very difficult. And even if an
event happens these days travel restrictions might lead to a late
change in plans. |
The 2020 edition of the Salon Privé Concours d’Elegance
presented by AXA, was probably the largest and lengthiest
motoring gathering in the United Kingdom since the introduction
of the various, and constantly changing, social distancing
regulations due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As with many events,
travel restrictions from a number of countries resulted in some
cancellation of entries, but despite this the organisers still put
together a broad ranging field of cars and motorcycles. |
Last night in New York, RM Sotheby’s celebrated a historic
evening with the sale of the renowned trio of Alfa Romeo
Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars, B.A.T. 5, 7 and
9, for $14,840,000 during Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening
Auction, achieving the top sale slot and setting a new record for
the most valuable post-war Alfa Romeo sold as a single lot at
auction and one of the most valuable of any Alfa Romeo ever
sold. |
93 years ago the first of the original thousand miles through Italy
was held and within the 30 years of existence the endurance race
on open roads became an institution in the sports car
championship contrasting circuit racing as the Nuerburgring or
Spa 1000 km. Maybe the older Targa Florio had a similar
character with its 148 km lap but it was the MM that created
legends like Nuvolari, Caracciola or Stirling Moss, the last of
the winners that left us earlier this year. |
Gooding & Company, the auction house revered for selling the
world’s most desirable and prized collector cars, achieved
$9,284,031 at its October 2020 Geared Online auction. The
company achieved an overall 77% sales rate from 51 of 66 lots
sold, with three vehicles selling over $1 million. |
|
Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lagonda are just three ‘grandes
marques du monde’ which will be offered by Bonhams when
the auction house returns to Paris for an exclusive ‘boutique’
motor car sale on 4 February 2021. Early consignments to the
sale, which will open the Bonhams 2021 European motoring
calendar, are led by a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II,
estimate €450,000 – 600,000. Known as the ‘Gentleman’s
Express’, the DB4 was the fastest and most powerful British
production car of its day. |
Gooding & Company, the internationally acclaimed auction house
known for selling many of the world’s most significant and
valuable collector cars, is honored to reveal Geared Online
European Sporting & Historic Collection, a curated selection of
nine coveted and magnificent automobiles to be offered on its
online auction platform. |
From a spectacular barn find to a collector’s item with patina that
is as good as new: the first Porsche 911 S Targa delivered in
Germany is back on the road again after comprehensive factory
restoration that took more than three years. Its owner, a
long-time collector and Porsche enthusiast, discovered the car in
the USA. “The Targa stood there for almost 40 years in a
doorless garage, covered by a plastic tarpaulin. The owner at the
time had seemingly just forgotten about the car,” says Uwe
Makrutzki, Head of Porsche Classic Factory Restoration at
Porsche AG. |
Gooding & Company, the auction house celebrated for selling the
world’s most desirable and prized collector cars, is pleased to
reveal a duo of European sports cars for the company's first sale
of 2021. From Monday, January 18 to Friday, January 22, 2021,
the auction will continue the company’s online only Geared
Online series with this special sale transpiring during the
Scottsdale automotive week. |
Two exceptional sporting motor cars from the 1960s are to be
offered at the Bonhams Legends of the Road Sale on 19
February, following decades of single-family ownership. A 1960
Aston Martin DB4GT, estimate £1,400,000 – 1,800,000, one of
the world’s most desirable Grand Tourers, and a 1965 Ferrari
275 GTS, estimate £700,000 – 900,000, considered the
marque’s first luxury convertible, will be presented in next
month’s highly curated selection of motoring masterpieces,
following 55 years and more than 40 years respectively of
single-family ownerships. |
Ferrari presents the new 488 GT Modificata, a limited edition car
that incorporates the technology developed for the 488 GT3 and
488 GTE, transcending the limits imposed by technical and
sporting regulations to exploit its full potential. The 488 GT
Modificata is exclusively for use during track days and at Ferrari
Club Competizioni GT events. |
An example of one of BMW’s most collectible and coveted
models, a 1959 507 Series II Roadster, was the top lot as
well as the cover star of the 10th anniversary Bonhams
Scottsdale Auction on 21 January, selling for US$1,809,000
following a tense bidding battle.Bonhams Motor Cars’ first sale
of the year used the successful Bonhams Live and Online
format, introduced in 2020 in response to the global pandemic,
and had an impressive sell-through rate of 78 per cent. |
Gooding & Company, the auction house acclaimed for selling
significant and valuable collector cars, maintained its status as
a market leader by setting new world auction records at the
company’s week-long Geared Online Scottsdale Edition
auction. The company realized $7,092,031 from 39 of 49 lots
for an 80% sell-through rate, and saw an average price of
$181,846 per lot sold. |
On Friday, 22 January, RM Sotheby’s kicked off its 2021
auction calendar with the company’s 22nd annual Arizona
auction, held this year at the OTTO Car Club in Scottsdale with
limited, by appointment only in-person attendance, achieving
$35,065,900 in total sales with 90 percent of all lots finding new
homes. The one-day auction saw bidders from 35 countries
around the world bidding in the room and via phone and
internet. |
