Following the updated base and GT Mustangs, Ford have now reworked the top-of-the-range Shelby GT500. The very potent 'pony car' features a new version of the supercharged V8 engine, which for the first time is completely constructed from aluminium. The result is weight reduction of a startling 102 pounds or 46 kg. Despite the lighter construction, the 5.4 litre V8 produces 550 bhp; 10 bhp more than the outgoing model. This has been achieved by the use of a new, two-row intercooler. In addition to the performance improvements, the creature comforts have also been addressed. Compared to the outgoing model, the road noise has been lowered by 20%. One of the most interesting option is a sizable glass roof on the fixed-head model. As always, the GT500 Mustang is available as a Convertible and a Coupe.
The next major auto show is the all important Geneva Motor Show, which will open its doors to the media on March 2nd. One of the most unusual cars to be displayed on the Swiss show floor is the LAMPO2 Concept, built by the local Protoscar company. It is powered by two electric motors that produce a combined 402 bhp and 640 Nm of torque. The fully functional show car is part of an initiative to get the number of electric vehicles in Switzerland up to 15% by 2020.
Joining the bright yellow LAMPO2 in Geneva is the all new Volvo S60. The luxury sedan features bold, styling inspired by the most recent Volvo concept cars. Particularly the nose treatment is a stark departure from the current range of Volvos. The most powerful version uses a 304 bhp version of the turbocharged six cylinder engine. Four and five cylinder engines (diesel and petrol) will also be available.
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Porsche have just released the first details of the all-new 997 Turbo S. The first 'S' in five years is based on the 'standard' Turbo and features performance upgrades across the board.
The twin-turbocharged six cylinder engine has been tweaked to produce a hefty 530 bhp; up 30 bhp from the Turbo. Despite the rise in power, the consumption figures are identical, making it a particularly efficient machine. Available exclusively on the Turbo S is a brand new seven-speed 'Porsche-Doppelkupplungsgetriebe' or 'PDK' twin-clutch gearbox. The top speed is 315 km/h (195 mph) and the all-wheel drive manages to get to 200 km/h (124 mph) in just over 10 seconds.
To keep all that power in check, Porsche have fitted the Turbo S with carbon ceramic discs and a mechanical differential lock on the rear end. The 19-inch wheels are inspired by the dominant RS Spyder LMP2 racer. As is more than appropriate on a top-of-the-range model, the new Turbo S' interior is fully equipped with the latest technology and all the luxury appointments.
The Turbo S will be available as a Coupe and Cabriolet. In Germany the Coupe is priced at 173,241 Euro before taxes while the Cabriolet comes at a 10,000 Euro premium.

Last week we learned that for the first time in a long time a Ferrari 250 GTO has come onto the open market. Generally considered one of the most valuable cars in the world, these Ferrari GT-racer usually change hands in complete privacy. Rumour has that for one of the most recent 250 GTO sales around $30 million was offered in return. Many of these rare Ferraris are safely locked away in prominent collections, so this is very much a unique opportunity to acquire a prime example of the quintessential Ferrari GT-racers. The chassis that has now come to the market is offered by RM Auctions as a private treaty sale for its current, Japanese owner. This particular chassis is one of the seven in existence today with the 'Series 2' style body and one of four converted by the factory to the later specification in period.
This exciting news inspired us to dive into our archives for shots of all four of these cars, resulting in a spectacular 30-shot gallery. All four of these machines started life with the more common 1962 style body and were refitted over the 1963/64 winter with the more aerodynamic body styled by Pininfarina. In addition Ferrari built three new chassis for the 1964 season. It was very much a stop-gap solution for the Italian manufacturer as they struggled to get the mid-engined 250 LM homologated as a GT car. The Pininfarina lines are also clearly inspired by the shape of the 250 LM. This is most obvious in the design of the rear half of the car, particularly the roof. The four converted 250 GTOs were all owned by prominent Ferrari privateers and raced with considerable success. On their long list of successes are class honours at the Targa Florio, numerous victories in Italian hill-climbs and notable wins in the hands of the likes of Graham Hill, Mike Parkes and Innes Ireland.
Our detailed article includes a general history of the 250 GTO as well as a detailed look at all four chassis. The cars are captured around the world with sparkling action photography from events like the Le Mans Classic, Goodwood Revival and Monterey Historic Races. Chassis 4675GT that is currently on offer by RM Auctions is captured at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where Ferrari was the featured marque. We are not privy to the asking price but it must be in excess of $20 million.

Last week we already looked at Pininfarina's upcoming Alfa Romeo concept and now it's time to highlight the second of three show cars headed for Geneva to celebrate Alfa Romeo's 100th anniversary. This is a Bertone styled Coupe that will bring the Turin based design house back to the Swiss show for the first time in three years. Designed by Mike Robinson, it is powered by the familiar 440 bhp, 4.2 litre V8 engine. For now all we have is a sketch but we will keep a close eye on this one.
Five years after launching the original concept, Renault will finally reveal the production version of the Wind in Geneva. The small two-seater has a foldable metal roof and will be pitched against cars like the Peugeot 207 CC. Mazda will celebrate the 20th anniversary of one of its most iconic models, the MX-5, with a limited edition version of the sports car. Based on the base model, it mostly sports tweaks to the exterior like bigger wheels. Production of the Europe only version is limited to just 2,000 numbered examples.
Today the first Formula 1 group-test concluded at Valencia. The Ferrari proved to be the quickest car, followed closely by the surprisingly fast Sauber C29. Powered by the Ferrari engine, it is the 2010 BMW car that never was. The C29 will be driven by Kamui Kobayashi and Pedro de la Rosa. While most of the established teams were already out testing, Virgin Racing was the first of the newcomers to reveal their car. Dubbed the VR-01, it has been designed exclusively using Computional Fluid Dynamics by Nick Wirth. His company's previous project was the ALMS Championship winning Acura LMP1 car, which was also developed in its entirety on the computer. The Cosworth-engined Virgin VR-01 has a very distinct look and a very appealing livery.

After a particularly eventful winter, the 2010 Formula 1 season unofficially kicked off this morning with the first day of testing at Valencia. Due to the huge restrictions on testing, this was the first opportunity for the teams to sample their new cars. Originally a joint launch of all cars was planned at Valencia but in the end the teams could not agree. Nevertheless many of the 2010 Formula 1 machines were only revealed today.
Most eyes in the paddock were on the Mercedes Grand Prix, which, de facto, is the defending world champion and has seven-time world champion in its ranks. The new W01 was seen for the first team when the door of the pit box opened early this morning. The former Brawn team have produced a very attractive car with some hints of Adrian Newey's very effective 2009 Red Bull design. The most appealing part of the car is the heavily sculpted air-intake. Schumacher was third quickest today in the Mercedes-Benz W01. Other cars debuted this morning were the Toro Rosso STR5 and the Williams FW32. This Cosworth engined machine is a radical departure from last year's FW31 and unlike most other new cars, it does not follow Newey's lines. Renault already revealed their R30 last night. To be piloted by Robert Kubica and the first Russian in F1, Vitaly Petrov, it sports a very retro yellow and black livery.
Over the weekend the first major endurance race of the year, the Daytona 24 Hours, was held. In one of the fastest editions in history, the established teams were upstaged by a debutant team. Piloted by Joao Barbosa, Ryan Dalziel, Terry Borcheller and Mike Rockenfeller, the Action Express Riley featured an independently developed Porsche Cayenne engine. Built by the Lozano Brothers Porting, the V8 outclassed the 'official' GT3 derived flat-six as well as all other works engines. The Riley Mk XX was run by last year's winners Brumos racing, who were not so lucky this year with their own flat-6 powered Riley.

At the headquarters of title-sponsor Vodafone, McLaren have taken the wraps off the all-new MP4-25 this morning. Still powered by the Mercedes-Benz V8 engine, the team's 2010 is a radical departure from its troubled predecessor. The most distinct new feature is a massive fin mounted on the air-box. Compared to the Ferrari yesterday the completely different location of the exhausts stand out. McLaren also has a very special driver line-up in Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. It's the first time since 1989 that McLaren have two world champions under contract and never before have the two most recent world champions been team-mates. The MP4-25 will make its track-debut on Monday when the teams will hold the first official test of the new season.
Also using Mercedes-Benz power is the Carlsson C25, which is the German tuner's first distinct model. Production is limited to just 25 cars and Carlsson have ensured absolute exclusivity by allocating just one car per country. The Mercedes sourced, twin-turbo V12 is massaged to produce a staggering 753 bhp. The C25 will be officially launched at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
At the Swiss show, Pininfarina will mark the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo. The two legendary companies have a long and lasting history together. Particularly the open Alfa Romeos have traditionally been clothed by the Turin based 'carrozzeria.' At Geneva, Pininfarina will showcase an Alfa Romeo based Spider Concept, which may give an indication of the replacement of the current Spider model. For now all we have to show is a render of the upcoming concept.

This morning Ferrari launched the first new Formula 1 car of the season. Most teams will follow suit in the coming days ahead of this year's first official test session scheduled for Monday. The new Ferrari F10 is much more than a subtle evolution of the disappointing F60 used in 2009. Gone is the KERS system that made the F60 such a difficult car to drive. In its place comes a much larger fuel tank, which is vital now that refueling is banned. Apart from the changes in livery, the biggest visual change is the more sculpted nose that has hints of last year's Red Bull car. The revised livery comes courtesy of new sponsor Banco Santander, which added a welcome white touch to the predominantly red livery. New to the team for this year is two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso, who will replace Kimi Raikonen. The Spaniard will race the F10 together with Felipe Massa, who has completely recovered from the horrific accident at last year's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Alonso's addition to the driver line-up made us look twenty years back in time when Ferrari managed to lure reigning World Champion Alain Prost from McLaren. He joined Nigel Mansell to create one of Ferrari's finest line-ups in their history. That season the Italian team fielded the 641 F1 or F1-90. This startlingly beautiful machine was a gradual development of the revolutionary 640 F1 introduced a year earlier. It featured a glorious 3.5 litre V12 engine with five valves per cylinder and the sport's first paddle-operated gearbox with seven forward speeds. After a difficult start, Prost and the 641 F1 came to their own halfway through the season and gradually closed to gap to Ayrton Senna. Despite five victories, the Frenchman eventually had to settle for second in the standings. The rest of the field quickly followed Ferrari's pioneering example and soon all cars were equipped with the 'flappy-paddle' system. Today it is a common sight on many high performance road cars.
Our 641 F1 article features detailed pictures of two examples. One of the chassis was gifted to Frank Williams in exchange for the services of driver Jean Alesi for the 1991 season.

One of the most prolific paint-scheme in sports-car racing is the powder blue and orange courtesy of Gulf Oil. From the second half of the 1960 Gulf backed the John Wyer operated team, which scored back to back Le Mans victories with their cleverly modified GT40s in 1968 and 1969. For the next two years Wyer fielded the legendary Gulf liveried 917s, which were among the quickest but suffered from incredibly bad luck. Rule changes rendered the 917 obsolete at the end of 1971 and with no immediate replacement available, Wyer decided to once more field a car of his own design.
Powered by an F1-derived, Cosworth V8 engine, the first of these purpose-built racers was the Mirage M6. Piloted by the likes of Derek Bell, Gijs van Lennep and Mike Hailwood, the elegant sports prototypes showed great pace but were often let down by poor reliability. The V8 engine had not originally been designed for endurance racing and also had the tendency to vibrate the rest of the car to pieces. During the 1973 season, Bell and Hailwood were able to convert a perfect run in this M6 into victory in the Spa 1000 km against the Matra, Ferrari and Alfa Romeo Works teams. Increased backing from Gulf resulted in the rebadging of the upgraded 1974 cars to GR7. Although continuously improved, the Mirages were still far from bullet-proof. A fourth at Le Mans was a rare highlight that year.
For 1975 the mission was clear; a victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After Matra's withdrawal, the competition was not quite as strong, so opportunity loomed. Wyer's men built two brand new GR8 chassis, which featured much smoother bodywork specifically for the high-speed Le Mans track. More importantly, the Cosworth engine was retuned to produce just 375 bhp compared to the 445 bhp that was on tap in the earlier seasons. It paid off as the cars finished first and third, scoring the fourth win at Le Mans for John Wyer.
Although Aston Martin Racing had a good run last year, no Gulf backed machines have been able to match the success of the Mirages since.

Last Friday the 35th annual Retromobile show in Paris opened its doors to a very eager public. As always the traditional season opener provided a great mix of car and motorcycle displays and automobilia stands to cater to all enthusiasts' needs. By keeping the available floor space relatively small, the show ensures that quality prevails over sheer quantity. This makes it one of the most visitor friendly shows of its kind in the world.
One of the main events of the 2010 edition of Retromobile was the Bonhams auction of 'Automobiles d'Exception' held on Saturday. The sale featured several complete collections, headlined by 'The Andalusian Collection,' which consisted of a whopping 28 cars. The absolute star of the sale was a Bugatti Type 22 Brescia that was recovered from a lakebed last year. The 73 years of submersion left their mark on the Bugatti but it nevertheless sold for a startling €260,500. The best news is that it will remain as is and will be displayed for all to see in a Californian museum.
There were many more spectacular machines on display in the remaining space of Hall 7C of the vast 'Porte de Versailles' exhibition centre. Mercedes-Benz showed their latest SLS AMG model alongside two classic 'Gullwings' to demonstrate roots of their new sports car. Peugeot celebrated its bicentenary, the Alfa Romeo Club marked 100 years of Alfa Romeo and Citroen looked back at 40 years of the GS and SM. Newcomer Mazda showcased an array of their most exciting cars built during the last decades. The best stands are usually created by the dealers and this year was certainly no exception. The likes of Lukas Huni and Hall & Hall again had some exquisite machinery on their vast displays.
For the eighth year running we travelled to Paris to capture the Retromobile show in its entirety. We made sure to get in as early as possible to get clean shots of all the beautiful displays. This has resulted in a detailed report and an exclusive 150-shot gallery.

While on this side of the Atlantic all eyes will be on the Retromobile show this weekend, Scottsdale, Arizona will be the American automotive capital. During auctions from Gooding, Barrett Jackson and RM Auctions a large number of highly impressive machines will be offered. One of our favourites is the one-off Ford GT90 Concept that will cross RM's block tomorrow evening. Fifteen years after it was introduced at the NAIAS in Detroit, this is the first time the GT90 will be available to the general public. Heralded as a fabulous styling statement, it has plenty of punch to back up its groundbreaking design. By merging two V8 engines and four turbos, the Ford engineers created a ground shaking V12 engine that produced a staggering 720 bhp. The 'Edge' styling philosophy first seen on the GT90 went on to serve as the basis for many of Ford's road produced during the last decade and a half. Maintained to the highest standards by Ford, the GT90 would be a worthy addition to any collection. RM have not listed an estimate but it would greatly surprise us if it does not break into the 7-figures.
We will be at Retromobile and a full report of this fabulous show will be published on Monday.
Yesterday MINI released the first details of the new Countryman model. The small SUV is the third addition to the line-up and the first one with four doors. It will be powered by the same engines as the other MINIs and a four wheel drive system is optional. The most striking features are the large headlights that were first seen on the Beachcomber Concept shown earlier this month in Detroit.
Although Subaru and Prodrive are no longer active in the World Rally Championship (WRC), the two companies are still working together. Their most recent product is the Impreza N2010. Built to the revised Group N specifications, it is ready to take on the ever growing competition from the S2000 rally cars. The biggest change is a bigger restrictor opening, which has lifted the power by 20 bhp.

With Winter holding the Northern Hemisphere in its grasp, we felt it was time to look at two glorious Cabriolets from the early 1930s. First up is a late model Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 bodied by Italian coach-builder Castagna. Originally developed as a racing car, the 8C 2300 was victorious in Grands Prix, road races and for four consecutive years at Le Mans. Alfa Romeo would also happily supply the thoroughbred chassis for coach-builders to fit with luxurious bodies, creating one of the first supercars. The featured example was delivered new to a young Italian heir to a sizable fortune. During the early 1940s it was shipped to the United States and acquired by Haig Ksayian. Like us he had a soft spot for 8C 2300s as he acquired a Zagato Spider some years later. For a considerable time he used the engine out of the Castagna Cabriolet to keep the Zagato bodied example on the road. After nearly half a century of ownership, the two 8C 2300s were sold. Reunited with its original engine, the Castagna Cabriolet was entrusted to master restorer Paul Russell. At the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance the fabulous 8C 2300 made its post-restoration debut where it was promptly awarded 'Best in Class'. A year later, it sold at a Gooding auction for a startling $4 million.
Of all great cars he built, Ettore Bugatti ranked the Type 46 as his favourite. As the nick-name 'Petite Royale' suggests, it was a smaller version of the massive, and unmarketable Type 41 Royale. With over 400 examples built, the Type 46 actually was quite successful. For reasons unknown only very few of these five-litre engined luxury machines have survived. The rarest of all is the Type 46S model, which featured a supercharged version of the eight cylinder engine. It is believed that this Reinboldt & Christie Cabriolet is the only open Type 46S in existence today. It was originally sold to Switzerland where it was fitted with its elegant coach-work. The big Bugatti was added to the current owner's collection in the 1980s. He spent the next 14 years carefully restoring the Type 46S. We were treated to the finished article at last year's Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

One of the world's closely fought and advanced sports car championships is Japan's SuperGT series. It features production based machines from Toyota, Nissan and Honda, all piloted by hugely talented drivers. The term 'production based' can be used loosely here as the cars in the 'GT500' class only use the centre section of the production cars they are based on. For the rest of the car sophisticated, purpose-built structures are used, resulting in the fastest GT-machines raced today.
For many years Honda used the NSX as their weapon of choice in the SuperGT championship. Through continuous improvements the aging machine managed to remain competitive until the end of last year. With no replacement for the discontinued road car readily available, Honda was forced to be creative while developing the successor for the NSX in the SuperGT. The resulting HSV-010 GT is actually derived from the stillborn sports car that was going to fill the NSX's shoes. It was axed in December of 2008 as part of Honda's drastic change of philosophy. At the time the road car's development had been well under way, enough for the SuperGT's governing body to allow Honda to base their new racer on it.
Late last year the first images of the HSV-010 (HSV is short for Honda Sports Velocity) surfaced and now Honda have released a full set of pictures and the first technical details. Although still unpainted, the V8 engined racer looks very attractive. With some imagination we can decipher how the road car would have looked and we can't help but hope that Honda will come to its senses. Complementing the 12 shots supplied by Honda, we have taken a closer look at the roots and technical merits of the HSV-010 GT.