Wouter Melissen
06-01-2015, 08:28 AM
Last week our photographers were at both the Spa Classic and Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. Today we take a look at one of the absolute highlights from each of the two great events.
At Spa, we were particularly taken by the Jaguar XJR-14 brought by Christophe d'Ansembourg. It was one of a trio of cars built to the new Formula 1 inspired Group C regulations introduced in the early 1990s. Powered by a 3.5-litre Cosworth V8, the car was effectively an F1 car with a roof. As a result, it was blisteringly fast and Jaguar used it to win the 1991 World Sports Car Championship. The Ross Brawn design was later used in IMSA GTP but its fragile design struggled on the rougher North American circuits. With one car crashed heavily and the other converted into the two-time Le Mans winning Joest Porsche WSC, the featured example is the only fully functional survivor. Unfortunately, it could not take part in the race due to a technical issue but as this 46-shot gallery shows, we managed to capture every angle of this rare Group C racer.
Rarer still was the one-off Pegaso Z102 Cupula shown for the first time since a ground-up restoration at Villa d'Este. Its striking lines and bright yellow finish made it one of the most talked about cars on display on the shores of Lake Como. It was displayed in period at the New York Auto Show, where it was bought by the dictator president of the Dominican Republic. In 1954, he raced the sophisticated machine in the Carrera Panamericana. Following a lengthy spell in the Rosso Bianco Museum, it joined the Louwman Museum collection. Our 22-shot gallery includes images from before and after the recently finished restoration.
Enjoy the links:
1991 Jaguar XJR-14 - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4484/Jaguar-XJR-14.html)
1952 Pegaso Z102 BS 2.5 Cupula Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/409/Pegaso-Z102-BS-2.5-Cupula-Coupe.html)
At Spa, we were particularly taken by the Jaguar XJR-14 brought by Christophe d'Ansembourg. It was one of a trio of cars built to the new Formula 1 inspired Group C regulations introduced in the early 1990s. Powered by a 3.5-litre Cosworth V8, the car was effectively an F1 car with a roof. As a result, it was blisteringly fast and Jaguar used it to win the 1991 World Sports Car Championship. The Ross Brawn design was later used in IMSA GTP but its fragile design struggled on the rougher North American circuits. With one car crashed heavily and the other converted into the two-time Le Mans winning Joest Porsche WSC, the featured example is the only fully functional survivor. Unfortunately, it could not take part in the race due to a technical issue but as this 46-shot gallery shows, we managed to capture every angle of this rare Group C racer.
Rarer still was the one-off Pegaso Z102 Cupula shown for the first time since a ground-up restoration at Villa d'Este. Its striking lines and bright yellow finish made it one of the most talked about cars on display on the shores of Lake Como. It was displayed in period at the New York Auto Show, where it was bought by the dictator president of the Dominican Republic. In 1954, he raced the sophisticated machine in the Carrera Panamericana. Following a lengthy spell in the Rosso Bianco Museum, it joined the Louwman Museum collection. Our 22-shot gallery includes images from before and after the recently finished restoration.
Enjoy the links:
1991 Jaguar XJR-14 - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/4484/Jaguar-XJR-14.html)
1952 Pegaso Z102 BS 2.5 Cupula Coupe - Images, Specifications and Information (http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/car/409/Pegaso-Z102-BS-2.5-Cupula-Coupe.html)