The fine people at Porsche Motorsport have worked their magic on the mid-engined 718 model to create the 718 Cayman GT4 and 718 Spyder. The tantalising machines share the same four-litre, six cylinder engine that, crucially, is naturally aspirated. It is good for 412bhp and this power is fed to the rear wheels by a manual six-speed gearbox. Both the Spyder and Cayman GT4 are priced at under €100,000 in Germany and we reckon they will sell like hot cakes.
BMW have added a third model to the 8-series line-up with the launch of the M850i xDrive Gran Turismo. Compared to the coupe introduced earlier, it features a slightly longer wheelbase to accommodate bigger rear seats and two additional doors. What is carried over is the 523bhp twin-turbo V8 engine that is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive system.
Earlier this week, Aston Martin revealed that their upcoming mid-engined sports car will be called the Valhalla after the warrior's paradise from the Norse mythology. Formerly known as the AM-RB 003, it has been developed together with Red Bull Racing and will be powered by a turbocharged V6 combined with a hybrid-electric system.
Shortly ahead of the market launch, Ford have released the power figures of the new Shelby Mustang GT500. The supercharged V8 will produce 760bhp, which will make the GT500 the most powerful Ford production car ever.

Over the weekend, Alpine announced the A110S. As the name suggests, this is a more poised version of the highly acclaimed A110. Compared to the 'base' model, it is slightly heavier but has 40 additional horses on tap courtesy of an increased turbo boost. Due to arrive in showrooms in October, the A110S will be available for customer deliveries before the end of the year.
At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, all eyes were on the governing body as the new regulations for the top level class were announced. This will cater to either full prototypes or production based hypercars. Shortly after the press conference both Aston Martin and Toyota confirmed their participation with competition versions of the Valkyrie and GR Super Sport respectively. The new class is set to make its debut after the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2020 which will conclude the upcoming FIA WEC.
Although there was no track action, it was a busy Friday at Le Mans as the track also hosted the launch of the evolution versions of the existing LMP3 cars. In addition to the Ligier JS P320 previewed earlier, these new updated models also included the Adess 03 Evo and the Ginetta G61-LT-P3. In each case, the revisions are a combination of improved driver safety and increased performance.

This weekend, we were at the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois for the 55th annual Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or. Quite literally, celebrating the golden age of motor racing, the event has been part of the Peter Auto racing calendar for the last couple of years. Accordingly, this year's edition featured all the familiar grids like Classic Endurance Racing and Sixties' Endurance with the exception of the Group C field. Among the many highlights of the action packed event was a fight between a Porsche 917 and Ferrari 512 for victory in CER1 and a surprising winner in the two-hour Sixties' Endurance race. It was also great to see a pair of the very rare mid-engined Maserati Tipo 63 Birdcages.
We were on hand throughout the weekend and have captured the event in full detail. The result is this 200-shot gallery that serves to illustrate a concise report.

As a tribute to one of the most extreme racing cars ever built, Porsche created this one-off Boxster Bergspyder. The model that inspired it is the 909 Bergspyder that was built for the 1968 European Hill Climb Championship. Saving weight was such an issue that chief engineer Ferdinand Piech went over the car with a magnet to ensure that not a single steel bolt or washer was fitted. The 909 had no conventional fuel pump but instead featured a fuel bladder that had to be pressurised by hand before the start. Also fitted were very light beryllium disc brakes, which had to be chrome plated as beryllium dust is toxic. Two were built and the featured example has recently been restored to full running order. The new Bergspyder is not quite so extreme. It is a lighter, single seater version of the 981 generation Boxster, fitted with a Cayman GT4 derived engine. Both Bergspyders are now part of the Porsche Museum collection.
Of a completely different order and quite a bit heavier is the new Bentley Flying Spur revealed today. Powered by a 626bhp version of the twin-turbo W12, Bentley claims it is the most advanced luxury Grand Touring sports saloon. The Flying Spur is available to order this autumn and deliveries will start early in 2020.

South African designer Gordon Murray has created a spiritual successor to the legendary McLaren F1. Dubbed the Gordon Murray Automotive T.50, the high performance machine is just about everything modern supercars are not; lightweight, fitted with a high revving naturally aspirated engine and equipped with a manual gearbox. It is built around a carbon-fibre composite monocoque, which uses the Cosworth-developed V12 engine as a partly stressed member. This V12 engine has a startling redline of 12,100 and produces 650 bhp from less than four litres of displacement. Like the McLaren F1, the T.50 is a three seater with a central driving position. Production of the £2+ million machine will start in 2022 and is limited to just 100 examples.
An absolute behemoth compared to Gordon Murray's latest creation is the all-new BMW M8 Competition that was just announced in both Coupe and Convertible versions. The Competition is a slightly faster version of the M8 with a slightly more powerful version of the twin-turbo V8, a more hardcore suspension and larger wheels.
One of the more unusual machines announced in recent weeks is the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato Concept. Sterrato is Italian for gravel roads and this wild version of the Huracan is indeed intended as an off-road version of the high performance coupe. It seems there are no intentions to make the off-road Huracan available to customers.
At next week's 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ligier will reveal the JS P320, which is the second generation of the company's LMP3 car. It has already been tested and will be made available to customers at the start of the next season. The JS P320 is not a completely new design and existing JS P3s can be upgraded to the latest specifications.

Having followed the Classic Endurance Racing field since its inception in 2004, we have seen a startling number of historic racing cars. Fortunately, each year we are treated to different cars that join the fray after having not been regularly campaigned for many years. One of the newcomers to the CER1 field this year is this well documented Chevron B19. Originally sold to South Africa, it has been raced in historic events for most of its life but only just joined the stable of the current custodian. He decided to finally returned B19-71-30 to its period 'Rays' livery.
Among the more fascinating cars to return to the track in 2019 was this Lola T280. The period racing career of this Cosworth DFV engined machine was cut short due to an accident after just two races. The wrecked car was used for spares when a honeycomb chassis'ed facsimile was built up for historic racing during the 1980s. What remained of chassis HU5 has now finally been rebuilt into fully running machine again.
One of five built, this March 75S has appeared in CER events but some years ago and with a different owner. A circuit racer now, it was hugely successful with French hill-climb champion Michel Pignard in period. He won a startling 21 national and European championship hill-climbs in 75S/3 during the mid-1970s.

Steeped in tradition, the annual Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este turned 90 years old this year. The highly exclusive event is held in the gardens of the Villa d'Este Hotel on the shores of Lake Como in what is a particularly beautiful part of the world. This scenic backdrop was explored further this year with the addition of the 'Prelude Tour' on the Thursday before the event. The entrants of the concours d'elegance were invited to join and the route took the cars to some of the most beautiful spots in the area. Unfortunately, nature was not friendly to the event for the entire weekend as just as the cars lined up for the parade in front of the Villa d'Este hotel started, a torrential downpour started. This did not dampen the spirits and the parade was completed just as planned, culminating with the presentation of the coveted Coppa d'Oro Villa d'Este for the 'best of show' by public referendum.
Our reporters also braved the conditions and have returned with a 180-shot gallery, which illustrates a concise report of the 2019 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este.

Ferrari have revealed the company's very first series production plug-in hybrid vehicle, the SF90 Stradale. Being a Ferrari, this is not any old plug-in hybrid as it features a drivetrain that is good for a combined 1,000hp. This consists of an enlarged version of the twin-turbo V8, which alone produces 780hp and is mated to a new eight-speed automatic gearbox. The remaining 220hp is added through three electric motors of which two drive the front wheels. On electric power alone, the SF90 Stradale can drive 25km. The SF90 Stradale also features a sophisticated aerodynamics package that can generate 390kg of downforce at 250km/h. Thanks to the surplus of power and all-wheel drive, the new plug-in hybrid Ferrari can accelerate to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 340km/h.

At the recent Spa Classic one of the highlights was the Group C class. Today, we take a closer look at three of these legendary sports racers that starred at Spa.
Not seen in action for several years was this Jaguar XJR-9. This was the first of six XJR-9s built and was raced in period at Daytona and Le Mans. It also won an IMSA GTP race at Del Mar. Retained by TWR and later owned by JD Classics, chassis J12-C-188 is now owned by an English racer who first campaigned the V12-engined Jaguar at Spa.
Starting on pole position for both races at Spa was this Porsche 962C. One of the very last built by Porsche, this car famously raced at Le Mans in 1993 with a unique Le Mans livery. It was retained by the original owner for 25 years and has only in recent years returned to the track for historic racing. As proven at Spa, 962-155 is very fast in the right hands.
Hugely successful in the C2 class is this Tiga GC289, which has been campaigned by its French owner since the fall of 2017. In period, it was raced at Le Mans and its contemporary racing career lasted through to 1993. One of six built, chassis 372 today proudly wears its 1989 Le Mans livery once more.

This weekend, the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Belgian Ardennes hosted the ninth annual Spa Classic. With 339 cars entered, spread over eight different grids, it is one of the largest historic racing meetings of the year. The Peter Auto organised meeting is a celebration of the Spa 24 Hours and Spa 1000 km races of the past with sports cars and GTs from the early 1950s through to the present day, and 1970s and 1980s touring cars making up the fields. Specifically created for the Spa Classic a few years ago, the Heritage Touring Car (HTC) field featured a night race as a nod to the period when the Spa 24 Hours was run for touring cars. In addition to the HTC, the ninth Spa Classic featured colourful grids that included the more recent Group C and Endurance Racing Legends fields.
A record crowd was treated to virtual non-stop action for three days. We were also on hand and have captured all the highlights in this 210-shot gallery that serves to illustrate a concise report.

One of the absolute highlights of the upcoming RM Sotheby's Villa Erba sale is this Maserati A6G/54 2000 Zagato Coupe. This example was only the second A6G/54 built and the first clothed by Zagato with coupe bodywork. Retained by Maserati, it was raced in period and was subsequently used by Stirling Moss and Denis Jenkinson as a reconnaissance car for the 1956 Mille Miglia. Following spells in the United States and Japan, it was repatriated to Europe during the 1990s when it was comprehensively restored. Chassis 2102 will be offered this weekend from a longterm ownership and is estimated to sell for €3 - 3.5 million.
Over the weekend, Bonhams staged their annual dedicated Aston Martin sale. With a 39% sell through rate, the £3 million auction was not a particular success. One rare exception is this right-hand drive DB5 that sold for well above the top estimate at £860,600.

After several teaser images and snippets of information, McLaren have now finally revealed the full details of the GT. Ready for delivery towards the end of this year, this is McLaren's take on a Grand Tourer. Effectively, it is a more refined and luxurious version of the company's familiar design. It features a slightly longer and redesigned chassis that allows for more luggage space that includes a 420 litres section under the rear panel. Underneath the luggage compartment sits a 620hp version of the four-litre twin-turbo engine that has also been purpose-tuned for the GT.
Whereas the GT is to an extent the detuned version of the rest of the product range that can certainly not be set of the John Cooper Works version of the MINI Clubman and MINI Countryman. Both are powered by a 306hp, two-litre engine, which makes them the most powerful cars ever produced in the company's 60-year history. This power is transferred to all four wheels through an 8-speed automatic gearbox. Both John Cooper Works models are available from July 2019.