This weekend the streets of Monaco will reverberate with the sound of classic Grand Prix cars and sports racers. To get you in the mood, we have highlighted three particularly iconic machines that will line-up for the various races. No doubt providing one of the absolute finest soundtracks is this Ferrari 312/69 F1. It is one of two V12-engined Grand Prix cars for the 1969 season and features the iconic 'spaghetti' exhaust system. Chassis 0017 was raced in period by Chris Amon and spent many years in American hands before returning to Europe more recently.
Competing in the same category and also set to hit the high notes is this Matra MS120B. Like the Ferrari, it features a three-litre V12 with ditto soundtrack. This particular chassis was raced exclusively by Jean-Pierre Beltoise during the 1971 season. It was later part of a prominent collection of Matra competition cars and has been regularly raced at Monaco since 2008.
Of an altogether different vintage is the Maserati 4CM 1500 featured today. It was a works car in period and was raced at Monaco in 1936. Chassis 1527 was then campaigned by a variety of Italian drivers before and after the War. Now in British hands, it is regularly raced at Monaco and Goodwood.

Bucking the trend, Ferrari continued the company's rich heritage with an all-new Grand Tourer powered by a naturally aspirated V12 engine. Appropriately dubbed the 12Cilindri, the 812 Superfast replacement boasts a clean design with clear references to the 365 GTB/4 'Daytona' with the plexiglass nose. The 6.5-litre atmospheric V12 produces 817 bhp at 9,250 rpm. Along with the Coupe, Ferrari also introduced a Spider version.
As part of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix weekend, Artcurial will stage the W Collection auction on Thursday. This consists of a single collection assembled by Swedish enthusiast Staffan Wittmark with all 44 lots being offered without a reserve. Headlining the collection is the beautifully restored Ferrari 250 GT SWB. It was sold new to the United States and extensively used by its first owners. A relatively recent addition to the W Collection, 3169GT was first seen post restoration in 2023 and has €8.5 - €12 million estimate. Another V12-engined Ferrari on offer is this LWB California Spyder. This car was also originally sold to the United States and has been owned by some very prominent collectors. Chassis 1057GT was completely restored in the early 2010s and is Classiche Certified. Artcurial estimate, the Ferrari will sell for €7 - €10 million.

It will be a busy week for British auctioneer Bonhams with two sales at Grand Prix venues within seven days. First up is the auction during the Miami Grand Prix weekend. Due to cross the block on Saturday is this one-off Ferrari SP30. It was commissioned by an enthusiast from the Emirates back in 2011 but never completed the purchase and it only surfaced in 2018 when it had been sold instead to an American dealer. It was offered at auction following year and the 599 GTO-based machine is now available again, still with less than 200 km on the odometer.
Next week, Bonhams will stage the biennial Grandes Marques a Monaco sale. The most appropriate consignment is this Tyrrell 008 Cosworth, which is the very car driven to victory in the 1978 Monaco Grand Prix. It was later also raced by Desiré Wilson and owned by noted collectors like John Foulston and Nick Mason. Owned for many years by an American enthusiast, chassis 008/3 has been raced in historic events including the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Another historic racing car consigned to the sale is this Ferrari 250 GT Drogo Coupe. This car started life as a 250 GT Coupe and was re-bodied in the mid-1960s by Drogo after an accident. In recent years 1717GT has been used in historic racing and benefits from a fresh respray. The pre-sale estimate is €2.5 - €3 million.

Goodwood raised the curtain on their motorsport season earlier this month with the 81st Members' Meeting. The two-day event combined a mix of familiar grids with one-off races and demonstrations. The racing roster included crowd favourites like the S.F. Edge Trophy for Edwardian machinery, the Gordon Spice Trophy for 1970s and 1980s touring cars and the Surtees Trophy for mid-1960s sports cars. The 60th anniversary of the Ford Mustang was celebrated with the single-make, two-driver Ken Miles Trophy, while current sidecar racers took part in an elimination shoot-out. The high-speed demonstration runs were also among the absolute highlights, headlined by the Can-Am Challenge Celebration, which included no fewer than seven Shadows. There were also demonstrations with Ferrari and McLaren F1 cars and also for the latest Gordon Murray Automotive models.
We were on hand to enjoy the spring weather and two days of track action. This has resulted in the following 190-shot gallery, which serves to illustrate this concise report.

Shortly after the passing of founder Peter Mullin, the marvellous Mullin Automotive Museum closed its doors. A large part of the collection will be offered this weekend at a dedicated Gooding auction at the museum. Among the highlights of the selection consigned are this Bugatti Type 57 C Gangloff Aravis Cabriolet that was originally sold to French racing driver Maurice Trintignant and the Delage D8-120 Chapron Cabriolet that starred alongside Gene Kelly in the movie An American in Paris. At the Auto China Beijing motor show, Lamborghini revealed the Urus SE. It is the first hybrid version of the popular Lamborghini SUV and combines an internal combustion engine with an electric motor that is mounted inside the gearbox. The maximum power produced by the hybrid drivetrain is 800 bhp.
Also launched this week are updated versions of the Porsche Cayenne GTS, the Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupe and the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance.

The European historic racing season got under way a fortnight ago with the third annual Mugello Classic. Staged by the Peter Auto organisation, the event saw two new grids compared to the previous years with the Classic Touring Challenge for Pre '60s touring cars and the Gentlemen Challenge for 1950s and early 1960s machinery added to the roster. These joined the familiar grids, with the capacity Endurance Racing Legends field taking centre stage. Headlined by Emanuel Collard reunited with his Pescarolo Courage C60, the grid also boasted a trio of Maserati MC12s, a pair of Bentley Speed 8s, an Audi R8 and a Lotus Elise GT1.
With spring in the air and great grids, the Mugello Classic proved to be more than fitting start to the 2024 racing season. We were on hand from start to finish to capture the event in its entirety, the result is a concise report, illustrated by a class-by-class 200-shot gallery.