MONTEREY, Calif. (August 19, 2023) –Italian luxury and performance brand Maserati commemorated 75 years of GranTurismo – with an exclusive celebration event in partnership with Sotheby’s. Held on Friday, August 18 at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the brand’s Monterey Car Week, Maserati gathered owners and their personal vehicles for a historic parade lap on the famed track to reflect upon the heritage that built the House of the Trident, while giving a glimpse of the brand’s exciting present and bright future. Continue reading
AFFALTERBACH (August 21, 2023) ― The second-generation Mercedes‑AMG GT Coupé is the new top model offered by Mercedes‑AMG. It combines highly dynamic driving characteristics with increased suitability for everyday use. High-tech components such as the AMG ACTIVE RIDE CONTROL suspension with active roll stabilization, rear-axle steering as standard and active aerodynamics sharpen the driving profile. The sporty coupé also brings its power to the road with the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all-wheel drive for the first time. In combination with the AMG 4.0 liter V8 biturbo engine, it results in a driving experience at the highest level. The exclusive AMG sports car architecture with the elaborate composite aluminum body structure enables its configuration as a 2+2‑seater. For a sports car in this class, this means passengers have a very good sense of space and plenty of room for their luggage. The new Mercedes-AMG GT Coupé, as the fifth independent series after the SLS, the first generation of the two‑door GT, the GT 4‑door Coupé and the SL, once again demonstrates the high level of technological competence of the Affalterbach development team. Continue reading
MONTEREY, California (August 21, 2023) ― The Lotus Eletre hyper-SUV has made its public debut in North America at Monterey Car Week, taking centre stage at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering. Continue reading
MONTEREY (August 19, 2023) ― At an exclusive event held at Casa Ferrari during Monterey Car Week and broadcast via live streaming, the Maranello-based company unveiled a one-of-a-kind Ferrari 812 Competizione. Without precedent, this Tailor Made car was inspired by the concept of a blank sheet, which is how the Ferrari Styling Centre starts its creative research for every new model. Continue reading
CREWE (August 21,2023) ― Bentley Motors brought the 20th birthday celebrations of its now-iconic Continental GT to a close with the reveal and immediate sale of a one-of-one Continental GT Speed, with a specification inspired by that of the very first production Continental GT from 2003. The muse for the project – VIN20001, the first GT off the Crewe production line – was displayed alongside the 2023 version at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering, also celebrating its 20th birthday and an ongoing part of Monterey Car Week. Continue reading
GOODWOOD (August 21,2023) ― Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is privileged to present Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail, a dark, daring and dramatic coachbuilt masterpiece. This extraordinary motor car, presented to the clients who commissioned it at a private event close to Pebble Beach in California today, symbolizes the distillation of experiences, significant moments and objets d’art cherished by its owners – an international family that exemplifies connoisseurship and luxury of the very highest order. Indeed, Coachbuild designers described the family’s talent for sensitive and informed curation in their homes and within their notable collection of motor cars and fashion icons, as an art form unto itself. Continue reading
MONTEREY, California (August 18, 2023) ―Lotus has brought history back to life with the world premiere of the Type 66 – and confirmed the stunning track-only car will go into production.
This unique project was unveiled at ‘The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering’ as part of Monterey Car Week in California, USA. Truly exotic in its design execution, the Type 66 is a new, ultra-exclusive, low-volume car from Lotus. It brings to life a ‘lost Lotus’ drawing board programme from the brand’s world-renowned motorsport heritage, combining it with today’s state-of-the-art racing technology and components.
The Type 66 has been launched in Lotus’ 75th anniversary year and is testament to the brand’s desire to reimagine the best elements of its heritage, updating them in the most exhilarating way possible.
With his eyes on the high-profile and commercially lucrative Can-Am Series, Lotus founder Colin Chapman tasked Team Lotus draughtsman Geoff Ferris to launch the Type 66 project to evaluate how Lotus design principles could be applied to this exciting category. Chapman’s primary focus on Formula 1 meant the innovative project never went beyond technical drawings and scale models. In a fitting tribute to the brand’s illustrious racing pedigree and heritage, Lotus has proudly fulfilled the original vision 53 years after the designer first put pen to paper.
Only 10 examples of this ‘rediscovered and reimagined’ Lotus V8 will be built. It’s a total selected to commemorate the number of races the Type 66 would have competed in during the 1970 season.
The car made its public debut in a heritage-inspired livery – reflecting the red, white and gold colours Lotus raced in during the early Seventies – and which could have adorned the Type 66, alongside the all-conquering Lotus Type 72 F1 car.
The Type 66 is one of the most exclusive projects Lotus has ever undertaken and each example will cost in excess of £1million.
“The Type 66 perfectly blends the past and present. It takes drivers back in time, to the iconic design, sound and pure theatre of motorsport more than 50 years ago, with added 21st century performance and safety. This is a truly unique project and in our 75th anniversary year it’s the perfect gift from Lotus, to fans worldwide and to a handful of customers.
“While the visual expression is strikingly similar to what could have been – including the period-correct white, red and gold graphics – the technology and mechanical underpinnings of the Lotus Type 66 represent the very best in today’s advanced racing performance.”
Simon Lane, Executive Director, Lotus Advanced Performance
Crucial to the development of the Type 66 programme has been Clive Chapman, Managing Director of Classic Team Lotus and son of Colin Chapman. It was documents held by Clive which allowed the Lotus Design team to bring the car to life.
“The car would have shared many innovative features with our most successful F1 chassis, the Lotus Type 72, which was developed during the same era.These include side-mounted radiators which helped reduce front drag, increase front downforce and channel airflow through and over the car. The rear of the car incorporates a distinctive tail section, resembling the Le Mans endurance cars of the period. These features would have boosted its downforce considerably, compared to rivals, aiding high-speed stability and ultimately its lap times. It would have been spectacular, as is the actual Type 66 we see today.”
Clive Chapman, Managing Director of Classic Team Lotus
Clive said it’s highly likely that Lotus F1 legend Emerson Fittipaldi would have driven the Type 66 if it had been built. The Brazilian was guest of honour on the Lotus stand at The Quail and helped to unveil the car.
The Lotus Type 66 has benefitted from more than half a century of technical progress since it was imagined to optimise its design, engineering and manufacture. Using state-of-the-art computer software, the team led by Russell Carr, Design Director, Lotus, digitised a series of 1/4 and 1/10th scale drawings supplied by Clive Chapman and created 3D renders to provide an entirely new perspective of the vehicle. The original sketches were true to Colin Chapman’s early designs, featuring a cockpit enclosure that would reduce drag and improve airflow to the rear wing.
In order to conform to modern safety standards and to ensure 21st century driver confidence, the original designs were delicately reinterpreted. New features to the vehicle include a modernised driver compartment, inboard fuel cell, sequential transmission and anti-stall system. Everything is contained in a full carbon fibre bodyshell.
The front wing was designed to channel air from the front of the car, through and underneath the rear wings, generating more downforce than the vehicle’s total weight at full speed. This sense of porosity, where air travels through a vehicle, rather than around it, remains a signature element of Lotus vehicle design today and is seen on the Emira sports car, Eletre SUV and Evija hypercar.
Russell said: “We are incredibly proud to have completed such a unique project, and one that Colin Chapman was personally involved in. There is a real delicacy in remastering the past. This is not a re-edition or a restomod, but a completely new breed of Lotus – a commitment that our past glories will continue to be reflected in our future.”
Optimised aerodynamics has been part of the Lotus DNA for all of its 75 years, and the Type 66 is no exception. More than 1,000 hours of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) work has gone into the programme, resulting in downforce in excess of 800kg at 150mph. That’s far more than the original underbody design would have been able to manage, enhancing both driver safety and vehicle performance for quicker lap times.
Advanced ‘driver-in-the-loop’ technology has been used to test how the vehicle would perform on race tracks around the globe, such as Laguna Seca, Silverstone, Fuji and Spa. Thanks to modern-day engineering and ingenuity, the Type 66 now matches the dynamic performance and lap times of a modern GT3 race car. On some circuits, such as Laguna Seca, simulator work suggests it could actually be quicker.
At the heart of the Type 66 is a period-representative V8 push-rod engine. It’s mid-mounted for optimised handling, tuned by Lotus to produce more than 830bhp at 8,800rpm*. Bespoke modern-day components include an aluminium forged crank, rod and pistons, which generate torque of more than 746 Nm at 7,400rpm*. The iconic Can-Am-inspired air intake ‘trumpets’ take centre stage at the top of the engine. These not only smooth out the air intake to create laminar flow, but also greatly improve the volumetric efficiency, allowing for greater combustion and more power.
The chassis is also period-representative, with extruded aluminium sections, bonded joints and aluminium honeycomb panels adding to its authenticity. To ensure drivers can unlock maximum performance when on track, the Type 66 features modern comforts such as an EPASS motorsport power steering column, a sequential racing gearbox with reverse, a race ABS braking system, an anti-stall multi-plate clutch and a fixed rollover bar.
Following the car’s world debut at The Quail, the Type 66 will be displayed on the Concept Lawn at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Sunday 20 August.
The numbers don’t look good. A paltry 61% overall sell-through resulting in a 20% drop in net sales over last year, falling short of the predicted $400 million+ mark. The majority of lots selling below—often drastically below—house estimates. And yet, we also saw the fifth highest result in the history of auction sales and while not as strong as 2022, the overall total was still the second highest ever (not accounting for inflation). With a similar sell-through to 2022 (78%), it likely would have approached or perhaps eclipsed half a billion dollars. That’s a staggering sum to think about, over the course of three days. While the market as an aggregate has softened over its post-pandemic peak, it appears to remain healthy.
So why the weak sell-through? In some cases it’s a simple case of supply and demand. For instance, of the 11 Siata 208 CS Berlinettas with Fiat 8V engines and Balbo bodies, two were on the block this year, one at Broad Arrow; the other at RM Sotheby’s. Neither sold (but both are now available for post-auction offers). This was in addition to two 1953 Fiat 8Vs. There were a number of Porsches with significant competition provenance on offer. All but one sold, whereas road cars like this 918 Spyder and this 959 Komfort met or exceeded their estimates.
Some of the more surprising non sales:
1967 Toyota 2000 GT – A rare (one of 98) left-hand-drive 2000 GTs in highly original condition and 41,000 original miles and documented history including 45-years with a single owner. Estimated to sell at $900,000 – $1,100,000, it barely kept pace with the youngster, a 1995 Honda NSX R that sold for $632,000. The 2000 GT is now available for post-auction sale for $750,000
56 Porsche 550A Prototype ‘Le Mans’ Werks Coupe – The sole surviving example of the fastback roofed 550A, the car finished 1st in class and 5th overall at the 1956 24 Hours of Le Mans as a Porsche Werks factory entry. Bidding stalled at $5,000,000, over a million shy of a 550 Rennsport Spyder that had never seen any competitive action, which sold at Bonhams Goodwood sale seven years ago.
1971 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” – Another indicator that the Daytona market may have peaked, this is a GTB/4 in a gorgeous Rosso Nearco that had undergone a high quality restoration while paying attention to its originality, including the numbers matching motor. It has a known history and retains its factory books. What at one time looked to be a dependable million-dollar investment, the Daytonas now look to have taken a back seat to their six-cylinder stablemates, the Dino 246. Huh.
1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 – Aston Martins did not do well this year. There were a few DB5s and even a Bond car, the 1973 V8 from “The Living Daylights.” Neither of which sold. One of the most appealing lots, a mechanically restored DB2/4 that otherwise retained a fabulous patina, has a rare sliding sunroof, and has a known history including 40-year ownership, stalled after some early enthusiasm. It’s now available post-sale with an asking price of $230,000.
CAMBIANO (August 18, 2023) ― Automobili Pininfarina opens an exciting new chapter in its history at Monterey Car Week with the introduction of the world’s first pure-electric, open top hyper Barchetta – the breathtaking new B95.
The pure-electric hyper Barchetta is a design and technology masterpiece – the simplicity of its flowing open-topped bodywork contrasts with exquisite technical details to provide a dramatic interpretation of a classic racer, underpinned by pure-electric performance. Continue reading
SANT’AGATA BOLOGNESE/MONTEREY, Calif. (August, 18,2023) – Lamborghini unveils Lanzador concept at Monterey Car Week, a concrete vision of a future purely-electric fourth series production Lamborghini. The Lanzador concept car introduces a high ground-clearance GT with 2+2 seats, featuring clear, purist and technical forms, with a brand-new concept in terms of performance and unprecedented on-board experience, staying true to Lamborghini’s unmistakable DNA and offering best-in-class sportiveness and fun-to-drive character. Continue reading
