In our ongoing look back at the 2018 season, it is today time to highlight several Ferraris that starred this year. The most recent of them is the Ferrari 550 GTS Maranello. Built and raced by Prodrive for the privateer Care Racing team during the early 2000s, these cars brought Ferrari back to the forefront of GT racing. They were hugely successful and eventually inspired Ferrari to officially return to GT racing, where they are still at the forefront. Unusually, all cars were retained by Care Racing for several years but now they are slowly being sold off. We already shot several of the cars in period and now also captured three examples in action at the Le Mans Classsic and Spa Six Hours this year.
Among the star cars at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix were a pair of Ferrari 312 B3s fielded by German specialist Mario Linke. Both chassis 010 and 012 were driven with great verve and former Audi works racer Marco Werner managed to place 'his' example third in his race.
One of the genuine Ferraris that raced at the Goodwood Revival was this fabulous 250 GT SWB Comp/61. Built for the 1961 season, it is one of the ultimate specification SWBs before Ferrari stepped up to the 250 GTO. The featured example was sold in period to a Swedish racing driver, who won the Mille Miglia rally. It is today raced at select events by the current German owners as can be seen in our gallery.

With last weekend's RM Sotheby's The Petersen Automotive Museum sale the 2018 auction season has come to a close. Our list of 25 top sellers is topped by the record breaking 250 GTO sold by RM at Monterey for just over $48 million. The Ferrari 290 MM that topped the this weekend's sale at the Petersen museum with $22 million also makes the top three. It slots in at a joint second with the mighty Duesenberg SSJ that found a new owner at the Gooding Pebble Beach Auctions in August. The most expensive car sold at a European auction in 2018 is this Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. Raced in period by Jim Clark and one of just three 'super-lightweight' cars, it was sold by Bonhams at their Goodwood Festival of Speed sale for just over $13.3 million.
Due to be one of the absolute stars of the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, the upcoming, all-electric Automobili Pininfarina hypercar will be named the Battista. Powered by four electric motors, good for a combined 1,900 bhp, it will be limited to just 150 examples worldwide and priced at $2 - 2.5 million.

Over the weekend, McLaren revealed the Spider version of the highly acclaimed 720S. Compared to the Coupe launched last year, the new Spider is only 4% heavier and retains the same torsional rigidity without additional strengthening thanks to the carbon-fibre composite chassis shared by both versions of the 720S. The Spider features a foldaway carbon-fibre roof, which can be fitted with an optional glass panel. Carried over from the Coupe is the 720hp version of the bespoke twin-turbo V8 engine. The 720S Spider is available to order immediately and is priced at £237,000 before taxes, which is close to £30,000 more than the Coupe.
To mark the occasion, we have also taken a renewed look at two McLarens we saw in action this year. The earliest is one of the M6B customer Can-Am cars built for the 1968. These were based on the all-conquering M6As raced by the works team the year before. Ordered new by Jo Bonnier, the example highlighted today was somewhat unusual in that it was raced in Europe first and then shipped to North America to race in the Can-Am. Chassis 50-15 was recently re-patriated and is now raced in its original, five-litre configuration with considerable success in the Masters Sports Car Racing championship.
One of the highlights of the year was the Global Endurance Legends demo in the build to the Le Mans Classic as this brought some rarely seen machines back out to the track. Among them was this McLaren F1 GTR. In period, it was raced only in Japan and still wears the striking Team Lark colours to this day.

For many enthusiasts the Group C and GTP era is considered the golden hour of sports car racing. Fortunately, these cars are still raced today and this year there was also a Group C and GTP support race at the Le Mans Classic.
Today we take a look at five machines that had not been raced for quite some time. The most spectacular of these was this Peugeot 905 Evo 1 Bis. It was raced to two World Championship victories in period and after a spell in England has now been repatriated to France. For this season, chassis EV16 was prepared by specialists Equipe Europe using engines developed by Oreca.
Porsche was the leading manufacturer in Group C. In addition to the cars built by the factory, cars from other companies also used Porsche engines. Among them was this Cougar C26S built by Yves Courage. It was raced in the guise presented today at Le Mans in 1991 but chassis chassis C02-02 actually dates back to 1983. In the intermittent period, the car was continuously updated to the latest specifications. It raced at Le Mans no fewer than six times. Porsche also allowed others to build complete cars following the 962's design. One of these is this 962 BM, which was one of eight built by hugely successful privateer Brun Motorsport. It was raced at Le Mans in 1989 and 1990, and more recently formed part of the formidable Historic Porsche Collection. Now in new ownership, 962-003BM returned to the track.
Another car not seen racing for many years is this Jaguar XJR-12 that originally competed at Le Mans in 1991 where it placed fourth overall. The following year, J12-C-891 finished second at Sebring.
One of the most interesting cars to return to racing is this Spice SE89P. It was raced originally by Jim Miller of Pratt & Miller fame and as such helped in the development of the mighty Intrepid racing car. Used into the 1991 season, SE89P-003 sports the same works livery as the Intrepids raced later in the year.

As we have entered the final month of 2018, it is time to start looking back at the many highlights of the year. One of the most spectacular was certainly this Porsche 917 K. Chassis 008 was originally one of the works cars and was raced at Le Mans in 1969, where it led for 18 hours. It was subsequently used for the famous test at Zeltweg where the Kurz or Short tail version of the 917 design was created with the help of the John Wyer Automotive team. Although it served as a Gulf JWA spare but it was not raced again and was eventually dismantled. The frame was later sold to Freisinger and built up to a complete car again. Not seen for many, many years, the rebuilt car finally resurfaced this year and was shown at the Le Mans Classic and raced at the more recent Imola Classic.
This weekend, Bonhams staged their annual flagship Bond Street Sale at the company's headquarters. Topped by the ex-Graf Albrecht von Goertz BMW 507, the results were disappointing. One car that more than lived up to the expectations was this Vauxhall 30/98 OE Velox Tourer. Originally sold to the Maharajah of Jammy and Kashmir, it now found a new owner for GBP 437,000, which was well above the top estimate.
Another car originally owned by Indian royalty currently available is this striking Bentley Speed Six Mulliner Sportsman's Saloon. Its first owner was the Maharajah of Jaipur and remained in India until 1937. In 2012, it was shown at Pebble Beach as part of a display of cars owned by Indian royalty, where it placed second in class and won two special awards. Chassis LR2778 is currently being offered by RM Sotheby's private treaty department.

Alongside the all-new 911, Porsche also debuted the last hurrah of the 991 generation with the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Based on the GT2 RS road car, this is a track-only racing car that will be limited to just 200 examples. In addition to track-day events, the 911 GT2 RS Clubsport will also be eligible for the SRO's new GT2 racing series due to be launched next year.
Another track-day special revealed in LA was this Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro. Based on the latest version of the GT R road car, it features components from the GT3 and GT4 competition cars. As with the Clubsport Porsche, the GT R Pro will be produced in limited numbers.
Audi, meanwhile, showcased the all-electric e-tron GT Concept. The show car offers a preview of Audi's new range-topping electric GT that shares the underpinnings with Porsche's Taycan. The e-tron GT features two electric motors; one on each axle with a combined system output of 590hp.
With the SP3JC, Ferrari rolled out yet another one-off. Built for a notable Pop Art collector, the F12tdf based machine is a tribute to the 1950s and 1960s Ferrari Spiders and is finished in a striking livery of white and blue with yellow details. The mighty 780hp V12 of the SP3JC is clearly visible through two glass panes in the engine cover.

On the eve of this week's Los Angeles Auto Show, Porsche have taken the wraps off the eighth generation 911. It features a completely redesigned body with significantly wider wheel arches. The launch version is the 911 Carrera 4S, which boasts all-wheel drive and a higher performance version of the three-litre, six-cylinder engine. Compared to the outgoing model, the new 'S' engine is 30hp more powerful at 450hp. This power is fed to all four wheels through Porsche's PDK eight-speed automatic gearbox. The eighth generation 911 is available to order right away.
Another new car due to debut in LA is the Bentley Continental GT Convertible. Compared to the previous generation Continental GTC, it is lighter, more rigid and quieter. In fact, Bentley boasts that the car is virtually as quiet with the roof up as the Coupe. Like its fixed head counterpart, it is powered by a version of the venerable W12 engine that produces a hefty 635hp. Quintessentially British among the options for the Continental GT Convertible is a tweed roof.

This week, Porsche will launch the eighth generation of the venerable 911. Introduced in the early 1960s, the 911 has not only been a huge commercial success but also starred on the race tracks during the last 50 years. Traditionally, 911s have fought for class victories but there have been some spectacular exceptions to this rule and today we take a look at three of these. The first is this 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 that was driven to outright victory in the 1973 Sebring 12 Hours by owner Dr Dave Helmick and Brumos team-mates Peter Gregg and Hurley Haywood. At this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Sebring-winning 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 was reunited with the great Hurley Haywood as part of Porsche's 70th anniversary celebrations.
GT racing was out of vogue during much of the 1980s and early 1990s but when that changed Porsche immediately jumped to the fore with the 911 Carrera RSR 3.8. One of the most successful of these was the featured example, which won the 1993 Spa 24 Hours outright and was also driven to the ADAC GT Cup in 1994.
Another Spa 24 Hours winner is this 911 GT3 RS that claimed an upset victory in 2003 against intrinsically much faster competition. The winning car has been restored to its Spa winning configuration and is regularly campaigned in the popular Global Endurance Legends series.
Before deliveries to customers start in 2019, McLaren will give the 720S GT3 its public debut later this week at the Bahrain GT Festival. For the occasion, McLaren have released additional images of the new racer.

On December 1st, Bonhams will hold their flagship sale at the company's Bond Street headquarters. The lot list features just 30 hand-picked cars and today we highlight three of these. The earliest of these is the BMW 507, which for many years was owned by the car's original designer Graf Albrecht von Goertz. Offered from two decades of single ownership, chassis 70100 is estimated to sell for GBP 2.1 - 2.2 million. Due to sell for even more is this Jaguar XJR-6. It is the second Group C Jaguar built by TWR and still features the British Racing Green livery of these early cars. During the early 2000s, J12-C-285 was regularly raced in historic events but we have not seen it in action for over a decade. Hopefully that will change soon. Also consigned is this Aston Martin Short Chassis Volante. One of just three dozen built, it combines the shorter chassis of the DB5 with the styling of the subsequent DB6.
Ahead of the official launch on December 8th, McLaren have offered the first glimpse of what we assume is the all-new 720S Spider. Another teaser image that hit our desks this week was of the Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro that will officially break cover at next weeks Los Angeles Auto Show. The limited-edition model is a track-day special that incorporates the best bits of the GT3 and GT4 racing cars.

Over the weekend, Italian manufacturer Lamborghini finished the company's motorsport year off with the World Finals at Vallelunga. At this occasion, the Lamborghini Corse competition department revealed the one-off SC18 Alston. Based on the Aventador and built specifically for a customer, the SC18 is a track-day only machine. It boasts a striking carbon-fibre composite body, further lightweight components and a rear-wheel drive only powertrain that produces 770hp. According to Lamborghini Corse, the SC18 is the first of a series of one-offs due be built in the coming years.
In a separate announcement, Lamborghini launched the first-ever one-make racing series for SUVs that will feature races both on and off the track due to kick off in 2020. As a preview of the car that will be used, Lamborghini produced the Urus ST-X Concept. It features a 650hp and 770Nm version of the twin-turbo V8 engine that powers the Urus road car. It is also a full 25% lighter than the production version. Lamborghini will give the competition car its track debut at next year's World Finals.
For the purists among you that might not enjoy Lamborghini's current direction, we have also taken a detailed look at this formidable Miura SV that will be offered at auction by RM Sotheby's in their December 8th Petersen Automotive Museum sale. Estimated to sell for a hefty $2.1-2.5 million, '4912' was delivered new to the United States and is the only one finished in the lovealy metallic blue. It has benefitted from a recent restoration and we saw the car in the metal at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

One of the most interesting developments in racing is the unification in regulations of the DTM and Japanese GT Championship with two combined races planned for the 2019 season. The two series already had virtually identical chassis rules, and now DTM will also replace the naturally aspirated V8 with the two-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engines used in Japan. To prepare for the new season both BMW and Audi have started testing their 2019-specification M4 DTM and RS 5 DTM respectively. While they run smaller engines, power is up to 600 bhp, which should make for a very potent racing car.
British manufacturer Aston Martin have revealed the first details of their upcoming SUV, due to make its official debut late in 2019. What is confirmed, is that the car will be the dubbed DBX just like the concept car shown in Geneva back in 2015. The pictures that have been released show a camouflaged car put through its paces that is unmistakably an Aston Martin. As such, it could very well be the best looking of all the ultra-luxury SUVs, which is not too difficult considering the current crop.
At the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month, BMW will reveal the high-performance M340i xDrive Sedan. Until the actual M3 will hit the streets, this is the range-topping model of the all-new 3-Series. It is powered by a 369bhp version of the twin-turbo, straight-six engine that drives all four wheels.

Ahead of the official launch, BMW have revealed some teaser images and details of the new M8 Coupe. The range-topping machine will be powered by a twin-turbo V8 that is good for at least 600 bhp. Like the M5, the new M8 will feature an all-wheel drive system that has a rearward bias but can also be run with rear-wheel drive only. In addition to the Coupe version, the M8 will also be available as a Cabriolet and a four-door Gran Coupe.
To mark the 70th anniversary of the introduction of the XK120, Jaguar have produced a pair of F-Type Convertible Rally Cars. They were built to celebrate the success of the XK120 in the Alpine, Tulip and RAC rallies. Based on the entry-level, 296 bhp four-cylinder model, the F-Type Rally Car complies with the FIA regulations. There are no details yet on when or even if these rally racers will be campaigned in anger but as the gallery shows, they have already been given some airtime.
The two rally cars are not the first F-Type based competition. Earlier this year, the Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) department had already prepared a pair of GT4 specification machines for a British GT Championship campaign. Based on the SVR, the GT4s were built specifically for the Invictus Games Racing team.