Ferrari - Maserati - Alfa Romeo >> Barchetta - The Classic and Sports Car Channel .... Updated News as It Happens.

�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.

Laurent Auxietre and Christophe Schmidt, two well established experts in the classic car industry, will make their debut as Auxietre & Schmidt at the world acclaimed Rétromobile week in Paris, from February 6th to 11th.
With great results achieved on exceptional motorcars in recent years, they are today taking their collaboration to the next level, creating a new company dealing with the highest quality automobiles: "We pride ourselves in working with passion and consigning some of the most significant motorcars, both classic and recent, as well as meeting the people behind them."

�It seems incredible to think that Enzo Ferrari was born in the 19th century,� says Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne. �His lesson is more relevant than ever and his modernity unquestionable. He was a man with extraordinary vision and ability to manage people and resources as well as a strong entrepreneurial spirit and exceptional courage. One wonders what he could have achieved if he had had access to today�s technical resources and knowledge. The mark that he left on the world remains a source of pride for all of us at Ferrari and for the whole of Italy.�

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.

First a little history revision on the Caramulo museum - it is situated in the spa town of the same name, high in the hills of the Caramulo mountain range, about 120kms south east of Porto in Portugal. The art and car museum was the brainchild of the brothers Abel and Joao Lacerda, who loved their town and wanted to give it something that would attract visitors, and keep it alive, after the sanatorium that had been its main source of employment and income closed in the early fifties.

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.

Dave Nicholas has taken many shots of Ferrari's from Sebring 59-50-61-62 and some 64-65 and other major races in the North America. Latest updates ... "Results updates include complete nat'l races from Lime Rock and Marlboro 1957 to 1962. Bud Hofer donated some great shots from the Glen GP in 1961. Don Cooke gave us hundreds of shots and the first posted are a great glance at the very last Sunday race at Lime Rock in April 1959. These shots include the notorious Paul Richards trying to dry out the main straight in his Cessna ! A whole new look at Bridgehampton with shots from 1951, 1957, 1966, 1968."

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.

Rained out... this year's Cavallino Classic in Florid ended like they began on Thursday during the private track day at the Palm Beach International Raceway, with torrential rain. Whereas the Concours on Saturday at the lawn at the Breakers suffered from various showers this day at the Presidents Country Club, the famous Mar-a-Lago, saw nothing but rain during most of the day. After the wet days before the lawn was flooded in parts when the cars arrived in the morning and after a first try to reach their destination on the field the surface appeared too wet ...

Avec 450 exposants dont 135 clubs et 50 000 m2 d'exposition de véhicules autos, avions, bateaux, motos, utilitaires, AVIGNON MOTOR FESTIVAL est un festival entièrement dédié à la passion des locomotions, d�hier et d�aujourd�hui. Fascinants, insolites ou merveilleux, plus de 2 600 véhicules d�époque déclinent un siècle de culture mécanique. Cette rencontre incontournable du calendrier des grands événements automobiles français ne cesse depuis sa création en 2003 de conquérir un public toujours plus large. AMF qui a enregistré 52 000 visiteurs en 2018 rentre aujourd�hui dans le club fermé des grands événements européens de ce secteur.

The Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena unveils a new exhibition, �Timeless Masterpieces�, with some of the most elegant cars in the history of the marque on display. When selecting the models, the curators of this collection focused on gran turismo and sports models, both for their iconic value and for the important role they played in the stylistic revolution of the Ferrari brand, giving shape to the aesthetic vision of their respective eras and leaving their mark on the automotive industry and beyond.

The 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn-Kurier and 1957 Ferrari 335 S were crowned this year�s Best in Show on March 10, 2019 at the 24th annual Amelia Island Concours d�Elegance. The event once again brought together the best of the automotive world, including 2019 honoree, �Mr. Le Mans� Jacky Ickx. The legendary Ickx is a six-time Le Mans winner, 1979 Can-Am Champion, a Formula 1 victor and a Daytona, Sebring and Paris-Dakar winner.
The Best in Show Concours d�Elegance Trophy was given to a 1938 Mercedes-Benz 540K Autobahn-Kurier owned by The Keller Collection at the Pyramids.

Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d�Elegance®, is pleased to announce a stunning competition 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta to be offered at the company�s highly anticipated Pebble Beach Auctions on August 16 and 17, 2019. Accompanying this particularly noteworthy and memorable Ferrari is a duo of celebrated cars from the esteemed marque that are sure to garner attention from worldwide Ferraristas.

Bonhams roars into its spiritual home of Goodwood for its Festival of Speed Sale on 7 July, as ever offering an incredible range of racing machines encompassing the full breadth of motoring competition history. From the glory days of Italian racing, the 1935 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 �Long Chassis� Tourer is leading the grid, one of the last examples of the very first Alfa Romeo eight-cylinder models. For estimate, refer to department. .

This year possibly the most prominent racing car in Porsche motor racing history is celebrating its 50th birthday: the Porsche 917. The Porsche Museum is honouring the 50th anniversary of the racing sport icon from 14 May to 15 September 2019 as part of a comprehensive special exhibition entitled �50 Years of the Porsche 917 � Colours of Speed�. A total of 14 exhibits � including ten 917 models alone with a total of 7,490 PS � will be on show.

The annual Auto Italia magazine Italian Car Day was held at its regular venue of the Brooklands Museum complex in Weybridge, Surrey, on Saturday 04 May. The gathering attracted a massive turnout of Italian machinery of both the two and four wheel variety, ranging from cute little Fiat 500s to a wide variety of supercars, with virtually something for everybody in between. The bright and sunny early start to the day, albeit with a chilly breeze, was no doubt a determining factor in the impressive array of vehicles on display, and also to the large number of visitors to the event, with all the car parks being full to capacity before lunch.

During a test drive the ex-Eddie Irvine Ferrari 288 GTO s/n 53307 was stolen ... who will let a "potential prospect" test drive a Classic Ferrari ?

Was this smart ?

What do you think ?

The Duesseldorf Police is looking for this suspect ... the 288 GTO was discovered in a single car storage rented by a person dealing cars, the starage was NOT manipulated.

A Puzzle to solve.

A week after the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe meeting at Brands Hatch the teams were at the Silverstone circuit, where there was a strong 48 car entry for the Blancpain Endurance Cup race on Sunday 12 May. They comprised of a number of the cars that had appeared at Brands Hatch, plus numerous others that were only participating in the Endurance Cup series. The support programme comprised of rounds of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe series, together with rounds of the Formula Renault Eurocup single seater series, whilst there were also �hot laps� and a supercar display in the paddock.

The Blancpain GT series visited the UK at the beginning of May with back to back race meetings over the first two weekends, the first being the World Challenge Europe (ex-Sprint series) at Brands Hatch on 05 May, followed by the Endurance Cup at Silverstone the following weekend. The races at Brands Hatch attracted a 26 car grid and were held on the long �Grand Prix� circuit. There was a strong support programme headed by the GT4 European Series, with a pair of 60mins races, each preceding the Sunday�s World Challenge Europe races

Niki Lauda (22.02.1949 � 20.05.2019)
The world of motorsport has lost one of its most revered characters with the passing of Niki Lauda. Although he came from a wealthy background, his family were totally against him becoming a racing driver, so he had to do it without any financial help from them, and took out personal loans to get on the ladder to F1. His big break came in 1973 when he was driving for BRM, a team then on a downward spiral, as his then team mate Clay Regazzoni was leaving to drive for Ferrari in 1974. Apparently Enzo Ferrari asked Regazzoni what he thought of Lauda�s driving abilities, and he was complimentary, thus he also signed to drive for Ferrari in the 1974 season, finishing 2nd in his first race for the team, and scoring his first Grand Prix win in Spain. Although he achieved six consecutive pole positions that year there was only one more win in the Dutch Grand Prix, mainly due to reliability problems.

Artcurial Motorcars will hold their new summer sale, Automobiles en scène, in the historic Théâtre du Rond-Point des Champs-Elysées, in the heart of Paris. The first sale will take place on Monday 17 June 2019, following two days of viewing on �La plus belle avenue du monde�. This inaugural sale will offer a line-up of some 80 collectors cars, and appearing on stage will be one of the all-time great Maranello models, a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB from the renowned collection of Jean-Pierre Slavic, as well as an exceptional private collection of nine Porsche.

Giovanni Moceri and Daniele Bonetti of the Team Alfa Romeo won the 1000 Miglia 2019. The duo in a 1928 Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 SS - owned by the Alfa Romeo Museum of Arese - won the 37th historical re-enactment, with 74752 points. Moceri, a doctor from Palermo, and Bonetti, a journalist from Brescia, beat the Villa Trasqua team, composed by two Brescians, Andrea Vesco and Andrea Guerini who, in a 1929 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 SS Zagato, gained 73611 points.

Perfect harmony between the public and the Jury of experts enabled the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B to gain a one-two victory at the Concorso d�Eleganza Villa d�Este 2019. The stylishly captivating and technically sophisticated two-door coupé from the year 1937 was crowned overall winner of the world�s most traditional heritage beauty contest for historic vehicles, just one day after its success in the Public Referendum. The event held under the motto �The Symphony of Engines � 90 Years of the Concorso d�Eleganza Villa d�Este & BMW Automobiles� therefore became a solo for the rare gem from Milan

Pre-sale, it was two incredible sports racing machines from the 1950s which had garnered significant attention, and on the night it was the same two cars which stole the show. The top seller was the original, matching-numbers 1954 Ferrari 500 Mondial Spider, chassis no. 0448 MD, the 12th of just 13 Pinin Farina Spiders built. The car boasts extensive period racing history and is an exceptionally eligible car for historic racing and concours events. Fully restored and Ferrari Classiche certified, the car was deservedly bought for €3,717,500.

The London Motor & Tech Show presented by leasing.com in association with Drivetribe was held at the Excel Exhibition Centre between 16-19 May. The show occupied three halls of the exhibition centre, two being the province of static displays, whilst the third featured live action which encompassed electric go-karts, a wall of death, Caterham Drift Taxis and renowned stunt driver Paul Swift performing some amazing feats. If you wanted to take the wheel yourself, there was also the opportunity for test drives in a variety of vehicles, or if you wanted to drive remotely then there was the Theo Racing Bugs remote control race track

Ferrari introduces a new chapter in its history with the introduction of its first series production PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), the SF90 Stradale, images, videos and information on which can be seen on the dedicated web site: SF90stradale.com. The new model is extreme on every level and represents a true paradigm shift, because it delivers unprecedented performance for a production car. Figures such as 1,000 cv, and a weight-to-power ratio of 1.57 kg/cv, and 390 kg of downforce at 250 km/h not only put the SF90 Stradale at the top of its segment, but also mean that a V8 is the top-of-the-range model for the first time in the marque�s history.

In the classic car calendar the May usually is packed with numerous events ranging from international rallies and concours to more local events. With the late edition of this year�s Tour Auto there was literally an event every weekend and sometimes one had to choose. After chasing cars through France and Italy and watching the line-up of masterpieces at the Lago di Como the month ended in Austria with the Gaisbergrennen. Although not having the same international reputation as the Mille Miglia or the Villa d´Este Concours the race up the hill at Salzburg can look back at a long tradition.