British luxury manufacturer Bentley have released the second generation of the Continental GT. Visually it is clearly a development of the original launched in 2003 and it is still powered by the twin-turbo W12 engine. This is now good for a hefty 567 bhp. Next year a more frugal and cleaner 4.0 litre V8 engine will be added to the line-up. Bentley's engineers have worked hard to refine the car and as a result it is quite a bit lighter than the outgoing model. The two-door coupe also features a sophisticated audio system with integrated navigation system. The new Continental GT will make its public debut on September 30th at the Paris Motor Show.
The Bentley will have to share the limelight with the replacement of the Lamborghini Murcielago. Surprisingly little information has surfaced on the car but the Italian supercar manufacturer is now starting to stir things up by releasing a teaser picture. It is the first of promised six teaser pictures of what Lamborghini describes as the new Supersports Car.
Following their British rival Lola, the French Oreca have shown the first sketches of their new LMP2 car built to the 'low budget' regulations, which will come into effect in 2011. The Oreca 03 will be available for 345,000 Euro and can accommodate a choice of engines. Penned by David Floury, the exterior follows the successful Oreca 01 design with the exception, of course, of the big fin on the engine cover.

In recent years Mazda's show cars have been among the finest. Up until now they used the 'Nagare' design language with as our personal favourite the Furai built in 2008. Following a change at the head of the design department, a new language has been created; 'KODO' or 'Soul of Motion'. The first car designed following the new principles is the Shinari Concept, which will make its official debut at the end of the month in Paris. The elegant four-door 'coupe' could very well provide the first glimpse of the RX-8 replacement.
Australia's HSV have released the first details this morning of the latest version of their top-of-the-range model; the Grange. It combines the very potent LS3 engine, which now produces well over 430 bhp, with advanced features like 'Side Blind Zone Alert' and the option to use petrol or LPG fuels. The big four-door machine will be available later in the month.
One of the most extravagant cars lined up at Pebble Beach last month was this unique Ferrari 410 SuperAmerica Ghia Coupe. It was the last Ferrari ever bodied by Ghia and took nearly a year to complete. The 340 bhp machine sports a design typical for Ghia's mid-1950s show cars with a very aerodynamic shape and big fins on the tail. As far as we know this was the first time the one-off Ferrari has appeared in public for at least twenty years.
Compared to the lavish Ferrari, the Bugatti Type 50 on the field sported a very understated design. Responsible for the big Bugatti's fine lines was Jean Bugatti and the body was built by the factory. Finished in a two-tone grey and black, the Type 50 Roadster was one of the most elegant cars in the concours.

One of the most exclusive events held during the Monterey Peninsula motoring week is The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering. Hosted by the Quail Lodge in the tranquil Carmel Valley, it has a strict limit of just 3,000 tickets. The 'lucky few' who were quick enough to purchase tickets were treated to some spectacular cars as well as fine food and drinks provided by the best local restaurants and vineyards. Among the featured themes this year were 45 Years of the Shelby Mustang and Alfa Romeo Special Coachbuilt. Particularly the Shelby Mustang celebrations attracted some very exciting machinery like Shelby's own Cobra prototype and one of just five open Ford GT(40)s produced. Further highlights included the public debut of the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, several exciting Lolas, a class full of fantastic Ferraris and a breathtaking McLaren F1. At the end of day the entrants picked the class and outright winners. Fittingly there was a special award presented to Carroll Shelby for his fabulously original Cobra 260.
Our reporters were at the Quail Lodge from the crack of dawn until the final cars left the lawn late in the afternoon. Their efforts have been compiled in a detailed report and a 170 shot gallery.

At the recent Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the highly coveted 'Best of Show' award was won by this spectacular Delage D8 S de Villars Roadster. It is one of just 99 Delages of this type built, which featured a more powerful engine and lower chassis than the 'standard' D8. The latter is what made the D8 S such a popular choice with the most prominent custom coach-builder. Many of these rare cars were entered in contemporary concours d'elegance with considerable success. Our feature car was described by a French magazine as 'triumphant in any concours d’elegance' in the fall of 1934. That was the result of its highly exclusive coach-work by de Villars in Paris. During the 1950s the all-white car was owned by an luxurious hotel in Madrid, Spain. It then disappeared from the radar for almost half a century. Beautifully restored, it surfaced again at RM Auctions' Monterey sale where it sold for a staggering $3.7 million. Three years later the Delage D8 S de Villars Roadster reaffirmed its 1934 reputation by claiming the 'Best of Show' award at Pebble.
The Pebble winning Delage made its very first public appearance at the Paris show back in 1933. Two of the stars of this year's show will be this Citroen DS4 and Lotus Evora S. The all-new Citroen is the second 'DS' launched, following the much praised DS3 introduced last year. The DS4 is quicker and more luxurious than the standard C4 it is based on. The most potent engine available is a 200 bhp, direct injection 1.6 litre 'four', which comes as standard with a six speed gearbox. It will makes its showroom debut early in 2011. As the name suggests, the Evora S is a more poised version of the highly acclaimed Evora. The Lotus engineers have tweaked the Toyota-sourced engine to produce 350 bhp, instead of the 280 bhp available in the standard model. In Paris, Lotus will also debut an automatic six speed gearbox, which is at the moment is only available on the 280 bhp Evora.

Under a new name but with many of the same ingredients the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion once again saw hundreds of classic racing cars gather at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Apart from the name change, the event also expanded to a fourth day to give all groups an additional practice session. From well over 750 applications a staggering 600 entries were picked, which were spread over 19 different groups ranging from pre-War Grand Prix machinery to Formula 1 and GTP cars of the 1980s. New for this year were special groups for Bugattis, National Stock Cars and under 2.5 litre Trans-Am cars. Guest of honour this year was American Racing Hero Dan Gurney. As a driver the tall American was highly respected and won numerous races in a wide variety of categories. He went on to produce many successful racing cars under the Eagle name, scoring three Indy 500 victories and dominating sports car racing in the early 1990s. His achievements were celebrated by bringing together a spectacular collection of the cars he drove and built.
Although the Monterey schedule gets busier every year, we managed to find/create enough time to shoot every group at least once on track. Our three days at the track have resulted in this detailed report and a spectacular 260-shot gallery.
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