There are more reports to come from the Monterey weekend, and to keep the anticipation up we take a closer look today at some of these events' highlights. Although somewhat overshadowed by the launch of Jim's P4/5, Ruf in conjunction with Studio Torino took the wraps off the all new RK Coupe earlier on the same day. Based on a Cayman shell the high modified Ruf features a supercharged 911 engine producing a stunning 440 bhp. It made us wonder who would need a 911 when this leaner, meaner Porsche is available. Not new like the Ruf, but still making its debut at Monterey after being completely restored was the stunning Delehaye 145 Grand Prix. Capable of beating the German Silver Arrows, this V12 Racer was no doubt the most advanced French racing car since the legendary Delage 15 S8. Paying tribute to the car's rich heritage, the owner not only stole the show at Pebble, but also raced it in the Monterey Historics. Another breathtaking machine out at Laguna Seca was the Eagle T1G F1 car. In 1967 it was the first American car able to score a Grand Prix victory in over four decades. One of the most talked about entries at Pebble was the featured Ferrari '125 S'. While it was sold new to its first owner as 166 Spyder Corsa, recent discoveries have made people believe it in fact holds the chassis of the very first Ferrari. We have followed the debate surrounding this car with close interest and decided to add it as 125 S as it is arguably the closest we will ever get to that very first Ferrari.
Volkswagen looks set to revive a much loved model of old; the Scirocco. To give the many fans of the Giugiaro designed coupe a glimpse of what is in store for next year, the German company unveiled the Iroc Concept on which the new Sc(Iroc)co will be based.

There was little rest for our European photographic team as within days after returning from the exhaustive Pebble Beach weekend, they were back on the plane to Great Britain for the fourth round of the Le Mans Series. Donnington played host this year to the English round of the five race series. The strength of the series was once again underlined by a strong turnout of 41 teams, although only 40 made it into the race. To keep the crowd entertained, there was a round of the Classic Endurance Racing series and the Radical World Cup, so there never was a quiet moment throughout the two days.
In the last three races Pescarolo reigned supreme, but for this race Creation went all out and fielded a second car piloted only by pro-drivers. In the practice and qualifying sessions building up to the race, it was obvious that not just the Creation team were going to challenge the dominant French. Competition in all classes was similarly close and it look set to become another exciting race. Exciting it was, with fierce battles for the lead in every class in the opening stages and two class lead changes in the last fifteen minutes of the race. Also for the first time the winning car was actually able to complete the 1000 km before the six hour limit was crossed.
Fighting off fatigue was not difficult with all the entertainment out on track and we are proud to present an in-depth report and an exclusive 150-shot slideshow packed with flames, lock-ups, power slides and related madness.

Last weekend thousands of automotive enthusiasts made the annual pilgrimage to Monterey, California for a series of action packed events, all building up to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance; arguably the best concours in the world. Thanks to the strict selection criteria, there is a different line up every year of rare and unusual vehicles on the 18th fairway. Organized annually from 1950, the Concours is steeped in tradition, but fortunately the organizers are always on the look out for improvement. In recent years they successfully got rid of the 'trailer queen' image by adding the Tour d'Elegance to the program and this year the number of cars on the field was considerably decreased, which made things a lot more comfortable for everyone. As always a number of manufacturers and themes are celebrated, and this year it was time for Delahaye and Voisin to take centre stage. While Delahayes are concours regulars, it was a true pleasure to see the largest collection of Voisins assembled since the factory ceased production in the late 1930s. The unusual Voisins were joined by equally extravagant vehicles of that era like the Bucciali TAV 12, a Bugatti Type 57 with a unique waterfall grille and the only Tatra V12; the most expensive car ever built in the Czech Republic. More modern rarities included the recently completed Ferrari 125 S, a Monteverdi HAI and a Zagato bodied Lamborghini 350 GT.
We spent most of Thursday along some of the most beautiful roads to capture the Tour and all of Sunday on the meticulously prepared Pebble grass to not miss a beat of the Concours. Since the night fell over the exclusive resort, we have worked hard to prepare our exclusive report and two slideshows of 70 images and 260 images for the Tour and Concours respectively. Our breathtaking pictorial exploration captures the events in their entirety and in the 2000 word report we highlight the most noteworthy vehicles present. Enjoy!

Months of speculation in old and new media came to an end last night when the sons of Andrea Pininfarina and James Glickenhaus took the cover off the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina. The venue was the tent of auctioneers Goodings & Co at the Pebble Beach equestrian centre and the crowd was a wild mix of press photographers, major collectors and Jim's many friends. After two brief speeches, the gathered masses had the first chance to see the P4/5 in the 'carbon'. Having closely followed the project from the early beginnings, we of course could not miss the great launch. No doubt it was one of the most anticipated debuts of this year, eclipsing all the major manufacturers' releases.
Earlier in the day we had some time to discuss the car with Jim at the Quail, a Motorsport Gathering and it is safe to say the conversion stretches much farther than the exterior. While the inspiration is a 1960s sportsracer, the P4/5 is thoroughly modern. The most amazing high tech feature is the military spec internal computer, which contains the build information of every single part; it can replicate itself. The lay up of the carbon fibre is designed by a computer to be continuous throughout the car like the grooves in mahogany wood. Full details will follow later, but for now here are the high resolution images of the launch yesterday and of the car out on the Pebble Beach putting green today.

This Sunday the Pebble Beach resort just south of Monterey, California will host the 56th annual Concours d'Elegance, which no doubt is the most prestigious automotive event in North America. Every year historic vehicle owners and other enthusiasts flock to the highly exclusive area for this and the many other supporting events. Among these is an ever growing number of auctions, which time after time try to offer the very best collector cars, some of which could very well be future winners at the Pebble lawn. For us the weekend started off well with a visit to the viewings of Bonham's and Christie's. To get you right in the mood for the many reports to come from the various events we have picked a highlight from each of these two auctions.
At first sight the selected duo seem to have little in common, but a closer look reveals some striking similarities: both are custom coachbuilt road cars based on a racing chassis and not quite in keeping with the gender's popular image, both cars were first ordered/owned by a woman.
At Bonham's the mastery of Figoni & Falaschi was underlined by a number of their striking creations of which the Talbot Lago T150C SS Teardrop Coupe obviously took centre stage. It is not hard to see why this is considered one of the most beautiful cars ever constructed. Christie's proudly offered the one-off Mercedes Benz 680 S Saoutchik Torpedo, which has remained in the same family since 1929.
If you are interested in owning one of these multi-million dollar motors, you have to be quick as they will cross the block this Friday and Thursday respectively.

Alfa Romeo's racing department Autodelta had already created a masterpiece with coachbuilder Zagato in the shape of the Giulia TZ, but the two companies really outdid themselves with the Giulia TZ2 of 1965. It used the same ingredients as its predecessor, but was lower, lighter and more powerful giving it a superior performance on many of the world's major racing tracks. With only 10 examples built, the TZ2 is also exceptionally rare and desirable. Last year Bonham's offered the featured car in their Quail auction. Exactly one year later it can be seen out on track in the hands of its new owner at the Monterey Historics this coming weekend. Since the 1960s a lot of technical progress has been made, but if we compare the upcoming Peugeot 908 RC Concept with the TZ2, it is easy to see times have changed and maybe not for the better. Nonetheless, with a mid-mounted 700 bhp V12 diesel engine, the 908 RC will most certainly be one of the stars of the upcoming Paris motorshow.
Since the dawn of motoring, hundreds of manufacturers came and almost as many went away again. One of the more successful of these short-lived makes was Stutz, responsible for some of the finest American sportscars in the first three decades of last century. The final generation of straight eight 'Safety' Stutz models were highly advanced and rivaled the best Europe had to offer. Today we take a look at an ex-Le Mans Supercharged Black Hawk and the one-off Model M Supercharged Lancefield Coupe, a multiple concours award winner, which changed hands for over $700,000 at last week's RM Meadowbrook Auction.
After announcing the special Hertz edition of the Mustang, Ford have now taken the wraps off the similarly specced Mustang Shelby GT, which will be available to the general public. Suzuki will unveil this funky Splash Concept in Paris.

Just as our deadline for this week's update closed, news hit our desk about a new British sportscar. With the help of the company founder Javan Smith, we were able to squeeze the striking Javan R1 in. Combining a lightweight aluminum chassis and a 220 bhp engine, the highly exclusive R1 could be a very viable alternative to Britain's merry bunch of two-seater sportscars. One of the most extreme of these is the recently unveiled Brooke Double R. With a power to weight ratio of almost 500 bhp per tonne, the no-nonsense Brooke should be quite the track car.
Paris looks set to host a number of hot-hatch unveilings at the end of September. Audi took the complete wrap off the new 265 bhp S3, which makes use of a 2 litre direct injection, turbocharged engine. MINI is not quite that far yet, although they did release the first details of the next generation Cooper S. It uses a similar engine to the S3, but only displaces 1.6 litre, which will still be good for 172 bhp.
One of the big stars of last year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was the lavish Rolls Royce Phantom I Jonkcheere Coupe. This weekend the big, oval doored Rolls appealed to the crowd again at the Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance where it won the People's Choice Award. You can expect a full report from this show later this week. Far more subtle and arguably more beautiful is the unique Pinin Farina body fitted on this Ferrari 166 MM/53, which also impressed at a recent Concours d'Elegance.
In last week's Silverstone Classic report, we already briefly mentioned the Brabham BT24 Repco, but now its time for indepth article on this very rare World Championship winning machine.

Tens of thousands of enthusiasts flocked to the 'Home of the British Grand Prix' to enjoy the Silverstone Classic this past weekend. Nearly 800 of them took to the track, while the rest of them admired the beautiful machinery on and around the track. In total there were about 600 historic single seater and sports racers present ranging in vintage from the mid 1920s to the early 1990s. If that was not enough, there was a pursuit of four very special Aston Martin racers including the DBR9, a Spitfire show and a demonstration of the RAF Falcon parachute team. In the vast infield area many clubs showed their finest examples of the manufacturer they represented.
We were among the enthusiasts and have captured the memorable weekend in its entirety. The most notable events can be found in our report and all the action can be seen in our exclusive 200-shot slideshow, which includes a burning Cobra, a flaming Mazda and many smoking tyres. Enjoy!