$20,250 – 23,000 Collector status: Buy and drive sparingly
2023 may be the last year to get into a quality Alfa Romeo GTV6 (or GTV-6 domestically) for under $25,000. What could easily be had for well under 10 grand not that long ago has caught the attention of collector-enthusiasts.
Much of the interest has to do with its 2.5-liter Busso V6. Many reviewers have dubbed this the greatest V6 of all time and there was likely no better home for it than under the GTV6’s bonnet. It proved itself under the demands of Group A rallying but also held its own against on the B-roads against the likes of the BMW 635CSi. While not the outright fastest, the Busso, along with the GTV6’s perfect 50/50 weight distribution, makes for spirited driving. And then there’s the sound. In the GTV6, we have what may be the command performance of the Alfasong.
Exceptional examples, particularly the very limited Balocco and Maratona editions, have eclipsed $30,000 and there’s no sign of cooling. But some well-sorted GTV6s do occasionally turn up on auction sites for within our 2023 parameters
A trans-Atlantic trio of rare mid-century Chrysler Ghia show cars, offered from the prestigious Ramshead Collection, will bring a touch of La Dolce Vita to Bonhams in the New Year as highlights of the Scottsdale Auction on January 26, 2023.Leading the glamorous group is the unique 1957 Chrysler Ghia Super Dart 400 concept car which was displayed at that year’s Torino and New York Motor Shows and most recently won a class award at the esteemed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. This striking, futuristic one-off showcased what was to come in automotive design and was equipped with Chrysler’s powerful 400hp Hemi V8 powerplant.This highly original and preserved example has covered just 49,000 miles with three owners from new and is offered with an estimate of $750,000 – 950,000. Continue reading
MUNICH/LAS VEGAS (January 5, 2023) – The BMW Group is sharing its vision of the future digital experience, both inside and outside the vehicle, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023 in Las Vegas. BMW i Vision Dee is the futuristic mid-size sedan with a new and pared-down design language. The name “Dee” stands for Digital Emotional Experience – and that is precisely its aim: to create an even stronger bond between people and their cars going forward. Future digital functions will go far beyond the level of voice control and driver assistance systems we are familiar with today. The BMW Head-Up-Display extends across the full width of the windscreen, providing a glimpse of the next vehicle generation. From 2025 onwards, this innovation will be available in the models of the NEUE KLASSE. The BMW Group has also refined its use of colour-change technology. Having unveiled the BMW iX Flow Featuring E Ink, with the ability to change from black to white, at the last CES, BMW i Vision Dee can now curate its exterior in up to 32 colours.
“With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showcasing what is possible when hardware and software merge. In this way, we are able to exploit the full potential of digitalisation to transform the car into an intelligent companion. That is the future for automotive manufacturers – and, also, for BMW: the fusion of the virtual experience with genuine driving pleasure,” said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “At the same time, BMW i Vision Dee is another step on the road to the NEUE KLASSE. With this vision, we are looking far into the future and underlining the tremendous importance of digitalisation for our upcoming product generations.”
With its intelligent, almost human capabilities, BMW i Vision Dee accompanies drivers not only through real-life situations on the roads, but also in their digital environment.
“A BMW lives by its unparalleled digital performance. BMW i Vision Dee is about perfect integration of virtual and physical experiences,” said Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Development. “Whoever excels at integrating the customer’s everyday digital worlds into the vehicle at all levels will succeed in mastering the future of car-building.”
BMW Mixed Reality Slider: into the virtual world in five steps The BMW Mixed Reality Slider, in combination with the advanced Head-up Display, is the digital highlight and central operating control of BMW i Vision Dee. Using shy-tech sensors on the instrument panel, drivers can decide for themselves how much digital content they want to see on the advanced Head-Up Display. The five-step selection ranges from analogue, to driving-related information, to the contents of the communications system, to augmented-reality projection, right up to entry into virtual worlds. In parallel, dimmable windows can also be used to gradually fade out reality. Mixed reality can be experienced in BMW i Vision Dee in an immersive way that engages different senses without requiring any additional tools, creating a new dimension of driving pleasure for the user.
Advanced BMW Head-Up-Display:in NEUE KLASSE from 2025 The BMW Group is known in the automotive sector as a trailblazer for the Head-Up-Display and has systematically refined this technology over the past two decades. In BMW i Vision Dee, projection across the entire width of the windscreen allows information to be displayed on the largest possible surface – which only becomes recognisable as a display once it is activated. In this way, the BMW Group demonstrates the huge potential of projection technology and BMW i Vision Dee visualises how a advanced Head-Up-Display could also be utilised in the future for the display and operating concept. The standard-production version of the BMW Head-up-Display extending across the full width of the windscreen will be used in the models of the NEUE KLASSE from 2025 onwards.
Welcome scenario with voice and phygital icons The digital experience already begins outside the vehicle, with a personalised welcome scenario that combines graphical elements, light and sound effects. Natural language serves as the simplest, most intuitive form of interaction, enabling perfect understanding between humans and their vehicles. The headlights and the closed BMW kidney grille also form a common phygital (fusion of physical and digital) icon on a uniform surface, allowing the vehicle to produce different facial expressions. This means BMW i Vision Dee can talk to people and, at the same time, express moods such as joy, astonishment or approval visually. BMW i Vision Dee can also project an image of the driver’s avatar onto the side window to further personalise the welcome scenario.
World premiere for full-colour E Ink technology Following the spectacular debut of the BMW iX Flow Featuring E Ink at CES 2022, the BMW Group is now unveiling a full-colour version of the E Ink technology in BMW i Vision Dee that will be used as the outer skin of the vehicle for the first time worldwide.
BMW i Vision Dee, rather than simply alternating between black and white, now showcases a multi-coloured, fully variable and individually configurable exterior. An ePaper film from the BMW Group’s cooperation partner, E Ink, is applied to the body to create this magical display of colour. Up to 32 colours can be displayed.
The body surface of the BMW i Vision Dee is divided into 240 E Ink segments, each of which is controlled individually. This allows an almost infinite variety of patterns to be generated and varied within seconds. The laser cutting process used to trim the films and the electronic control design were developed in partnership with E Ink. The adaptation of this technology for curved surfaces and the programming of the animations, were developed by BMW Group’s in-house engineers – enabling a form enabling a form of customisation that is unique throughout the automotive sector worldwide.
Reductive design – inside and out The design of BMW i Vision Dee has been deliberately pared down to focus attention on the digital experience and the DNA of the BMW brand. The exterior is defined by the classic three-box sedan design that forms the core of the BMW brand. Traditional design elements, like the BMW kidney grille, twin circular headlights and the Hofmeister kink, are reimagined, with phygital icons replacing analogue elements. This gives BMW i Vision Dee its own digital, but human, character.
Inside, digitalisation goes hand in hand with reductive use of materials, operating controls and displays to ensure nothing distracts from the digital experience and the new feeling of enhanced driving pleasure. The unconventional design of the steering wheel, with its central vertical spoke, creates touchpoints that come to life when approached or touched and can be operated by moving the thumb. These phygital touchpoints control selection of the content projected onto the windscreen and, together with the Head-Up Display, thus support the principle of “hands on the wheel, eyes on the road.”
“With BMW i Vision Dee, we are showing how the car can be seamlessly integrated into your digital life and become a trusty companion. The vehicle itself becomes your portal to the digital world – with the driver always in control,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design. “Implemented the right way, technology will create worthwhile experiences, make you a better driver and simply bring humans and machines closer together.”
Another milestone on the road to the NEUE KLASSE The future of the BMW Group is electric, circular and digital. BMW i Vision Dee represents the digital aspect of this trio and will be another milestone on the road to the next vehicle generation, the NEUE KLASSE. The BMW Group will provide further insights and glimpses of the revolutionary vehicle concept of the NEUE KLASSE over the course of 2023.
It’s a quintessential example of what many consider to be the quintessential Jaguar saloon, the Series III XJ6. This one has been preserved in its 1983 showroom state by a single owner over its 77,500-mile life. It can be forgiven an aftermarket CD head unit as it appears great car has been given to maintain its purity otherwise. This one’s a bargain at an advertised $7,995. Find it at AG Auto Group in Columbus, Ohio.
Another one returning to the list and while exceptional examples of the 1984 to 1986 Ford Mustang SVO exceed our $23,000 cap, low-mileage, well-sorted No 2-conditon cars can be found well within our criteria. Preservation seems to be key in that the quality examples have seen a steady climb in value while even decent No 3-condition cases have decreased. It follows the logic that the fittest of an already low-production car will reap the greatest benefit. But driven sparingly, its nimble handling and peppy turbo motor will no doubt benefit its owner in turn.
STUTTGART (January 4, 2023) – The Mercedes-Benz Classic overview of key dates in 2023: numerous vehicle models celebrate anniversaries, as do motorsport successes and corporate events. Mercedes-Benz Classic will be reporting on these and other topics as the year unfolds. In addition, the regularly published “Classic Notes” and the “Classic Motorsport Newsletter” will feature further anniversaries from the corporate, product and motorsport history of Mercedes-Benz, as well as important birthdays.
1 to 20 January 1983 (40 years ago): Jacky Ickx and Claude Brasseur won the Paris–Dakar Rally in a Mercedes-Benz 280 GE
20 to 26 January 1963 (60 years ago): The Ewy Rosqvist / Ursula Wirth team won the women’s classification of the Monte Carlo Rally in the Mercedes-Benz 220 SE rally car
28 January 1938 (85 years ago): World record set by Rudolf Caracciola on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt motorway at 432.7 km/h. This record remained unbroken for 79 years
9 February 1998 (25 years ago): The first A-Class vehicles equipped with ESP® as standard left the assembly line
23 February 1928 (95 years ago): Hans Herrmann born in Stuttgart. He was a works driver in the 1950s when Mercedes-Benz re-entered motorsport
4 to 14 March 1993 (30 years ago): The Mercedes-Benz 500 GE V8 special model celebrated its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show – a harbinger of later G models with V8 engines
5 to 15 March 1998 (25 years ago): The CLK Cabriolet (208 model series) and the E 55 AMGEstate (210 model series) were unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show
14 to 24 March 1963 (60 years ago): Mercedes-Benz presented the 230 SL (W 113). The “Pagoda” was the world’s first sports car with a safety body
1 May to 31 October 1893 (130 years ago): Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft exhibited the first operational automobile in the USA, at the Chicago World Fair
10 May 1993 (30 years ago): Presentation of the first Mercedes-Benz C-Class (202 model series). At the same time, all passenger car models were given the new nomenclature
2 July 1903 (120years ago): Camille Jenatzy won the Gordon Bennett race in a private Mercedes-Simplex 60 hp – instead of the fire-damaged new 90 hp works racing car
13 to 21 August 1983 (40 years ago): The Mercedes-Benz 190 E 2.3-16 (W 201) set three world records and nine class records in Nardò
27 to 31 August 1963 (60 years ago): The Spa–Sofia–Liège Rally was won by Eugen Böhringer and Klaus Kaiser in the Mercedes-Benz 230 SL (W 113)
8 September 1953 (70 years ago): Mercedes-Benz presented the 180 model (W 120) to the press. The “Ponton” saloon was an important new design of the post-war period
9 September 1923 (100 years ago): The Benz Tropfen racing car, the world’s first competition car with a mid-engine, achieved success at Monza
9 to 19 September 1993 (30 years ago): The C 36 AMG, E 36 AMG, E 60 AMG and SL 60 AMG were unveiled at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt/Main
9 to 21 September 2003 (20 years ago): The SLR McLaren high-performance sports car (199 model series) and the Vision CLS study premiered at the International Motor Show (IAA)/
12 September 1898 (125 years ago): Delivery of the Daimler “Phoenix car” with 9 kW (8 hp) 2.1-litre engine. It was the world’s first automobile with a four-cylinder engine
12 to 22 September 1963 (60 years ago): The Mercedes-Benz 600 (W 100) had its sensational debut at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt/Main
1 to 11 October 1998 (25 years ago): The 220-series Mercedes-Benz S-Class celebrated its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show
4 to 14 October 1928 (95 years ago): The Mercedes-Benz 18/80 hp Nürburg 460 (W 02) was the brand’s first passenger car with an eight-cylinder in-line engine. World premiere in Paris
1 November 1998 (25 years ago): Following his victory in Suzuka, Mika Häkkinen became the Formula One World Champion. The constructors’ championship went to Team West McLaren-Mercedes
19 November 1968 (55 years ago): Mercedes-Benz presented the coupés of the 114 model series (“Stroke/8”) in Hockenheim
22 December 1913 (110 years ago): With a modified version of the “Blitzen-Benz”, L. G “Cupid” Hornsted set two world records at Brooklands
23 December 1953 (70 years ago): The Mercedes-Benz 220 Coupé (W 187) entered the product range, establishing the brand’s tradition of luxury-class coupé.
SEALY, Texas (January 4, 2023) – Hennessey, the Texas-based hypercar manufacturer, and high-performance vehicle creator, delivered a milestone 10th Venom F5 to its owner over the holidays. The striking metallic blue F5 Coupe, with brilliant white stripes, was delivered at Hennessey Special Vehicles in Sealy, where a specialized team manufactures the hypercar in a dedicated facility.
Signed off for full production in March 2022 by company Founder and CEO John Hennessey, plus Chief Engineer John Heinricy, the Hennessey Special Vehicles team has now assembled more than a dozen F5 Coupes and Roadsters. As of last week, 10 production units had been hand-delivered to customers – a collective output of more than 18,000 bhp!
The rate of manufacturing is increasing monthly, despite ongoing supply chain challenges, and Hennessey expects to deliver more than 20 Venom F5 hypercars in 2023. The company, which has grown to more than 90 full-time team members, when Hennessey Performance and Tuner School is included, plans to expand its manufacturing capacity further this year.
“Manufacturing a hypercar requires a team effort on a global scale, and I could not be prouder of our accomplishments. Each bespoke commission is visually stunning, an imaginative collection of colors and materials befitting a vehicle of this caliber. Our clientele is thrilled by the Venom F5 and simply astonished by its performance.”
John Hennessey, company Founder and CEO
While all 24 Venom F5 Coupe commissions sold out in 2021, Hennessey is still offering the Venom F5 Roadster – an open-roof variant of the 300+ mph hypercar. Build slots may be reserved by calling the Hennessey Special Vehicles sales team at +1 979.885.1300 or visiting HennesseySpecialVehicles.com.
GRAYDON, UK (January 4, 2023) – The ultimate finale to a bloodline. DBS 770 Ultimate is a final edition flagship to surpass them all. Ferocious performance 770PS. Re-engineered, sharper dynamic focus coupled with exquisite design. Only 499 examples. Uncaged early 2023. Hold on tight.
BLENHEIM, Ontario (December 2, 2022) – After an unprecedented and record-breaking year, RM Sotheby’s is thrilled to begin the 2023 calendar by returning to the Arizona Biltmore & Spa in Phoenix on 26 January for its 24th annual Arizona sale. Continue reading
The Saab 900, particularly the Turbo models from 1991 until the end of “classic” production in 1993, have always had a fervent following among Saab Trolls. It’s not hard to see why. They’re quirky yet common sense, lively yet practical, sporting yet comfortable. It’s fair to say they have personality, whether in three-door wagonback or convertible form.
This 900 Turbo Commemorative Edition (or CE in Trollspeak) is an excellent example of that. The CE marked the swan song of classic 900s in 1993. The three-door was released that year, while the Convertibles capped off the line as a 1994 model. It’s done just shy of 100,000 miles but shows very well. Seats don’t show the wear we typically see on Saab seats of similar age and use. Likewise there doesn’t appear to be any of the dash cracks that usually come up on that big plastic surface. The originality (stereo, equalizer, manuals) indicates an appreciation for preservation and that bodes well for the general care given. Nothing in its tidy presentation suggests otherwise.
It’s a Saab so expect to replace things like the water pump, head gaskets, etc. over the next 50,000 miles, but the service records will give you a good idea of what you’re dealing with. Find it here at Romb Cars for a decent $21,000.
