Hot on the heels of our full report of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, we now take a closer look at six of the most interesting cars in the event. Four of them are world premieres while the other two are very rare cars dressed in an Italian suit.
Aston Martin used the Villa d'Este concours to reveal the first running version of the upcoming One-77 super car. Priced at a million pounds, it features a bespoke carbon fibre chassis and an extensively modified 7.3 litre version of the familiar V12 engine. Production will commence early in 2010. At the same time Morgan will start delivering the first examples of the Aero SuperSport. It is the latest development of the 'Aero' line and features a Targa style roof with removable panels. The car was launched at Villa d'Este to celebrate the manufacturer's 100th anniversary. Down the road at Villa Erbe, Bugatti also celebrated their centenary with the aptly named Veyron 16.4 Centenaire. Each of the four examples display was painted in a famous racing color to highlight the marque's racing heritage. After a year's absence Bertone made a startling return to Villa d'Este with the very wild Mantide. Under the Jason Castriota penned lines is a Corvette ZR1 chassis and engine, giving it supercar performance. For now the car is a one-off but Bertone will build two more cars if there is sufficient interest.
One of the loudest and most beautiful cars on display was this Fiat 8V Zagato Coupe. It combines the trademark double-bubble Zagato body with the hottest version of the Fiat V8 engine. It is believed to be the only surviving example of the quad-choke Weber equipped engines. Not nearly as good looking but equally interesting was the BMW 2800 Spicup. Built by Bertone for the 1969 Geneva Motor Show, it features a sliding roof so the driver could choose between a Spider and Coupe (hence the name) experience. A few years ago the car resurfaced in a rather sorry state. The current owner had the unique Spicup restored just in time for the show.

This weekend the luxurious Villa d'Este hotel once again hosted the annual Concorso d'Eleganza, celebrating its 80th anniversary. First held in 1929 and not open to the public, the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este is the oldest and most exclusive event of its type. This year's edition featured fifty of the finest classic cars as well as eight of the latest concept cars and prototypes. Among them were three world premieres; the Aston Martin One-77, Bertone Mantide and Morgan Aero SuperSport. The classic cars nevertheless took center stage with an impressive ranging from an early Rolls-Royce Phantom I to the Momo Mirage of 1972. The cars also varied in their condition from carefully preserved like the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 GTC to extensively restored like the Ferrari 250 GT Europa that had just been completely overhauled at the factory. Further highlights included a Fiat 8V with 170 bhp competition engine, a Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series I that has risen from the ashes like the Phoenix, the SS 90 Prototype, effectively the very first Jaguar sports car and the very wild BMW 2800 Bertone Spicup. Proving that not all of these cars are 'trailer queens' one competitor drove his 8-Litre Bentley well over 1000 km across Europe and through the Swiss Alps. Both the panel of expert judges and the public picked a best of show and for the first time they came to a unanimous decision.
Our photographers made the same 1000 km trip across the continent to visit one of Europe's most beautiful areas and of course cover the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este. The have returned with a class by class report and an exclusive 200-shot gallery.

This weekend an exclusive selection of the world's finest classic cars will gather at the beautiful Villa d'Este hotel for the annual Concorso d'Eleganza. To warm you up for our full report due early next week, we now take a closer look at two Touring bodied machines that were shown at Villa d'Este last year. The recently re-established coach-builder was at its height in the early 1950s when it created the trademark 'Superleggera' bodies for a variety of manufacturers.
The earliest of the two feature cars is the Ferrari 166 MM Le Mans Berlinetta, which won best of show by jury vote in 2008. Exceptionally well restored by expert Paul Russell, it also won an award at Pebble Beach and also the 2008 Louis Vuitton award. More importantly it was the winner of the 1950 Mille Miglia in the hands of Giannino Marzotto. Touring fitted just five of the 166 MM chassis with this style body as most customers favored the easier access of the slightly lighter Barchetta style bodies. In addition to the Mille Miglia winner, our article also features a second Le Mans Berlinetta that we recently saw at Amelia Island.
Even more famous than the Ferrari is the slightly unusual Pegaso Z102 B 'Thrill'. Commissioned by the Pegaso factory, this show car looks similar to Touring's production Z102s but has some distinguishing features. The most obvious are the fabulous flying buttresses behind the cockpit. The car was extensively shown in period but has only rarely been seen in recent years. The rebirth of Touring inspired the owner to bring it out to Villa d'Este last year. We have painstakingly captured every detail in our 12-shot gallery.
Over the last few days we have been following the Tour Auto, so you can also look forward to a full report of that in the coming days as well.

At this weekend's ALMS Long Beach round just 21 cars were on the grid. That will change before the season is over as a brand new manufacturer is set to join America's leading road racing series. On the eve of the race Rocketsports Racing announced a GT2 program with a competition version of the Jagaur XKR GT2. The American team is currently developing the car based on the all aluminum production car. Jaguar will help them where possible. Awaiting the arrival of the actual, we have to do with these striking renders. This was not the only new GT racers launched this week. BMW introduced the GT4 version of the M3 Coupe, which will be eligible for various national and international championships. Built to brand new regulations and for the proposed 2010 World Champions is the Matech-Ford GT1. It uses a 5.5 litre version of Ford's V8 modular V8 engine that produces 600 bhp. Two teams will race the 2010 spec car in this year's FIA GT championship together with the similarly specced Nissan GT-R.
German Ferrari tuner Novitec celebrates their 20th anniversary in style with the very impressive TuLesto supercar. Although still based on the Ferrari F430, the limited edition coupe is distinctly different. Exotic lovers will be happy to hear that the twin-supercharged V8 engine produces a staggering 777 bhp. A slightly more modest output is achieved by the all new high performance version of the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia. The 325, all wheel drive model is dubbed the OPC or VXR depending on the badge on the nose.

Each year the massive 'Messe' (exhibition center) in Essen hosts the Techno Classica; the world's largest in-door classic car show. Spread out over a dozen halls there were an estimated 2500 cars on display this year. It's inevitable that many of these are 'run off the mill' cars but among them are enough 'gems' to justify the sore feet. Particularly the manufacturer stands were well endowed with many celebrational features. Audi and Morgan celebrated their 100th anniversary while at Mercedes-Benz 75 years of the 'Silver Arrow' was the main feature. It was great to see many of the manufacturers offer display space to owners clubs, which brought out some very interesting privately owned machinery. Most of the remaining space was filled by dealers, who brought out an incredible number of cars. Amazingly we were told that at least 50% of these had changed hands before the show was over.
On the eve of the official opening, our photographers roamed through the Messe. Their efforts have been compiled in a full report and an exclusive 110-shot slideshow.
In addition we have taken a closer look at one of our favorite cars on display; the BMW 700 RS. Powered by a unique DOHC motorcycle derived engine, the small roadster is the very first purpose built racing car that BMW made after the War. It was used predominantly for hill-climbs, which were very popular in Germany. The 700 RS was part of the 50th birthday celebration of the BMW 700 model.

Insiders were genuinely surprised when Henri Pescarolo fielded a brand new version of his LMP1 racer at the recent Catalunya 1000 km race. The French Le Mans legend had pulled a V10-engined rabbit out of his hat. The Pescarolo 01 Evo was not only new, it also proved to be seriously quick. To be more exact, it was a full two seconds quicker than the previous version of the Pescarolo that was also present at Catalunya. Over the Winter the engineers drew up a brand new aero-package basically from scratch. It was even extensively tested in the wind tunnel to determine its effectiveness. The most noticeable changes are the more sculpted sides and the taller rear fenders. During the race in Spain, the new Pescarolo long looked headed to claim a debut victory but eventually had to settle for second. For the next race at Spa Pescarolo Sport will have a second 'new' car, which will surely be fighting for victory as well. Even more interesting will be the 24 Hours of Le Mans were Pescarolo will race one of their own cars alongside a Peugeot.
After three great new LMP1 racers, we now return to 'normal' business with a first look at an upcoming production car; the Aston Martin Rapide. The four-door sedan is set to make its debut at Frankfurt's IAA in September of this year. The British company revealed the first details today. Not surprisingly, it will be powered by the 6-litre V12 engine, which is tuned to produce 470 bhp. The chassis is a lengthened version of the highly adaptable Vertical/Horizontal aluminum spaceframe chassis. The styling is similar as the Rapide Concept launched back in 2006.

For many enthusiasts a proper sports car has a roof, a striking livery and a glorious engine note. The second of our 'diesel challengers' ticks all of those boxes. It is the 2009 incarnation Lola-Aston Martin that has won the first round of the Le Mans Series a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately the fantastic car has been overshadowed by controversy concerning its name. If you would follow chassis builder Lola and the homologation papers, it is a Lola-Aston Martin B09/60 but engine supplier and entrant Aston Martin Racing will have you believe the car is in fact called the Aston Martin DBR1-2. We have taken a middle ground and for now labeled it the Lola-Aston Martin B09/60. Aston Martin's, still unofficial type-name, is a reference to the chassis number of the Aston Martin DBR1 that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans back in 1959. Now fifty years later Aston Martin is back with its most serious assault in the French classic since. Whatever it may be called, the new Lola-Aston is a fantastic racing car that undoubtedly be a fan favorite due to the legendary Gulf livery and the howling exhaust note of the DB9 sourced V12 engine. The season started off well for Aston Martin Racing but we will have to wait until the next round of the Le Mans Series at Spa to see how the car stacks up against the top diesel runners.
At Catalunya we have inspected every detail of the tantalizing B09/60. This has resulted in an exclusive 18-shot gallery illustrating a detailed article.
Tomorrow the third new diesel challenger will be highlighted.

In recent years, the major sports car races in Europe and North America have been dominated by diesel engined machines, more specifically the Audi R10 / R15 and the Peugeot 908. Until this year the petrol opposition came from privateer teams, whose efforts, however valiant, never succeeded. With the arrival of new LMP1 programs on both sides of the Atlantic, Peugeot and Audi will really be challenged. This week we take a detailed look at the newcomers.
First up is the Acura ARX-02a, which was jointly developed by Wirth Research and Honda Performance Development. Apart from the engine, it represents a clean-sheet design unlike the ARX-01b LMP2 racer, which used a Courage sourced chassis. Designer Nick Wirth focused all his attention on mechanical grip and downforce to compensate for the lack of torque and power compared to the diesel engined competition. Part of the solution was the use of rear tires on the front, which in turn forced Wirth to come up with an F1 style chassis. Particularly the raised nose bears close resemblance with the current Formula 1 cars. The weak link of the car is the 4-litre V8 engine that above all lacks torque compared to the diesel engines. Nevertheless the chassis works so well that Scott Dixon managed to qualify the ARX-02a on pole for the season opener at Sebring. A few weeks later, the Patron-Highcroft fielded car scored its first ALMS victory at St Petersburg.
In our article we take a detailed look at all the technical characteristics of this minimalistic racer. It is illustrated by an exclusive 24-shot gallery shot at the car's debut, the Sebring 12 Hours.

This month major auto shows are held in two of the world's biggest cities; Shanghai and New York. The show in the 'Big Apple' opened its doors to the media yesterday. The gathered press was treated to a variety of high performance releases.
The most exciting was the Nissan Nismo 370Z, which is lighter and more powerful than the 'regular' 370Z. The 350 bhp coupe can easily be distinguished from its more docile brother by an aggressive body-kit. Alongside the Nismo version, Nissan also debuted the Roadster. Compared to the outgoing 350Z Roadster, power is up by 26 bhp.
At the BMW and Mercedes-Benz displays high performance also was a key ingredient. The Munich based manufacturer debuted the X5 M and X6 M. Both cars are a little superfluous but they do boast an interesting development of BMW's twin-turbo V8 engine. Now producing a hefty 555 bhp, this engine is expected to be used in future M5 and M6 models. Over at the arch-rival from Stuttgart, the wraps were taken off the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. Like most of the recent AMG models, it uses the fabulous all-aluminum, naturally aspirated 6.3 litre V8. The coupe version is expected to follow shortly.
At Shanghai the doors will not open for another week but BMW already released the first images of the 760Li that will be unveiled in the Chinese city. It uses an all-new twin-turbocharged V12 engine, which is good for 544 bhp.
Earlier this week during the official FIA GT test days at Paul Ricard, a new Maserati racing car took to the track. Based on the concept shown late last year, the GranTurismo MC will be used in the various GT4 championships.

This weekend the sixth Le Mans Series (LMS) season kicked off with a cracking 1000 km race around the Circuit de Catalunya just north of Barcelona, Spain. Other than the departure of the Peugeot and Audi Works teams, the LMS seems to have gotten through the economic perils virtually unscathed. The void left by the aforementioned teams in LMP1 has been filled by Aston Martin Racing and the Kolles team with last year's championship winning Audi R10s. More importantly there were an impressive 43 cars on the grid for the season opener.
The race kicked off on Sunday at 11:30 am and lasted the full six hours. All four classes were closely disputed throughout the race and the fight between the new Pescarolo and Lola-Aston Martins was not settled until the dying minutes.
In addition to the modern sports racing cars, the LMS features the Classic Endurance Racing (CER) series in its support program. Open to historic racing cars from the 1960s and 1970s, the CER race is a one-hour enduro. Just like its modern equivalent, the CER attracted over 40 entrants for the Catalunya round. Among them were a Porsche 936, several Lola T70s and three BMW M1s.
Our photographers were trackside the full three days to capture all the action from both the Le Mans Series and Classic Endurance Racing races. The result is an exclusive 180-shot gallery that illustrates a full report of the weekend's events.

For the fourteenth time the Ritz Carlton on the lovely Amelia Island hosted the annual Concours d'Elegance. Established as an alternative for the existing concours, 'Amelia Island' offers a unique mix of classic road and racing cars. In the build up to the main event on Sunday, there were various seminars, road tours and of course an auction. Long term partner of the Concours d'Elegance, RM Auctions hosted their sale on Saturday afternoon. In these difficult times, every auction result is carefully examined and although RM struggled to shed the big money lots, the overall result was not disappointing. Top seller was a stunning, well driven Duesenberg that sold for just over $1 million.
The Concours d'Elegance on Sunday showed even less signs of the 'crisis' and saw a field packed with great cars and a big crowd. Among the celebrated people and themes were racing driver David Hobbs, coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz and the racing cars of the Group 44 team. There were an additional two dozen classes and many more special awards that required an afternoon packed award show. Each of the winners was called forward to receive their award, providing the crowd ample opportunity to admire many of the cars in motion. At the end of the day two well deserved best of shows drove up to the judges' table; the Mercer 122 Supercharged (Concours de Sport) and the Voisin C20 'Mylord'.
These and many others can be found in our detailed article and exclusive 300-shot gallery.