Porsche used this week's Los Angeles Auto Show to take the wraps off the third generation Cayman. As before, it follows the mould of the Boxster but with slightly more powerful engines for both the 2.7 litre engined base model and the larger engined Cayman S, producing 275 and 325 hp respectively. Both versions come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, while a seven-speed, twin clutch gearbox is available as an option. Despite being slightly heavier, the sophisticated 'PDK' gearbox does shave some tenths off the acceleration times. Both the Cayman and Cayman S will be available in Europe from March 2nd.
To mark the launch of the latest Cayman models, we have taken a step back in history of nearly sixty years to highlight the new machines' spiritual predecessor; the 550 Coupe. The featured example holds the distinction as being the very first purpose built racing car built by Porsche and fittingly won at its debut. Unlike the subsequent quad-cam powered 550 production cars, this example still uses a relatively simple push-rod engine. Despite the modest power delivered by the near stock flat four, the 550 prototype and its sister car scored class wins at Le Mans and in the Carrera Panamericana. Long believed to have been lost, the original Porsche 550 was recently restored and we captured it in an 18-shot gallery on display at the 2005 'Quail' and a few years later in action during the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Today, the annual Los Angeles Auto Show kicked off with the first of two media preview days. One of the absolute stars on display in the local Convention Center will be the Jaguar XFR-S. Powered by a 550 hp, supercharged V8 it is the most potent four-door ever produced by the British manufacturer. If the specs are anything to go by, the XFR-S could very well be a match for the German super saloons. Offering altogether more modest performance is the BMW i3 Concept Coupe. This all-electric machine boasts a carbon fibre chassis and a 168 bhp motor that drives the rear wheels. An equally funky concept on show in LA is the Hyundai Veloster C3 Roll Top with matching 'fixie' bicycle. Further new releases include the Dodge Charger R/T Daytona and the production version of the Ford Fiesta ST.
Not present in Los Angeles is the subtly revised Hennessey Venom GT2, which is not due until the second half of next year. The restyled body offers additional interior space and the already very powerful engine has been tuned to pump out a staggering 1,500 bhp. This enables the Venom GT2 to reach an estimated top speed of 462 km/h or 287 mph.
One of the most interesting debuts at the upcoming Essen Motor Show will definitely be this Lexus LS-based TMG Sports 650. Produced by the same people that were responsible for Toyota's Formula 1 and Le Mans cars, this beast of a machine promises to be very special. The 650 in the name refers to the amount of horsepower produced by the specifically developed, twin-turbo V8 engine. Although not yet confirmed, it would not surprise us if Toyota Motorsports GmbH (TMG) will offer the Sports 650 as a limited production model.

In a cruel twist of fate, this year's 50th anniversary celebrations of the Cobra also doubled as fitting tributes to its creator Carroll Shelby, who passed away on May 10th. As a result, we have been treated to a fabulous selection of Cobras throughout the year and today we take a look at two of the very best. They are the remaining examples of the five FIA Roadsters built ahead of the 1964 season to compete in the FIA World Championship. Raced alongside the much better known Cobra Daytona Coupe, they took the fight to Ferrari and scored GT class wins at legendary tracks like Spa and the Nurburgring and also in the Targa Florio. Compared to the earlier Cobras, the FIA Roadsters featured many subtle changes to both increase performance and comply with the strict homologation requirements.
As mentioned earlier, only two examples have survived as complete cars and we managed to capture both this year, resulting in this 30-shot gallery. The earliest of the pair has been completely restored and is pictured in action during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, while the other was presented in a time-warp condition at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Believed to be only Cobra team car that is this original, the latter not surprisingly won the special Cobra class at Pebble.

Lotus has gone into history as the first team/manufacturer to win the Indy 500 with a mid-engined car. Jim Clark's 1965 victory was three years in the making and a key figure in inspiring Colin Chapman to cross the pond was American Dan Gurney. The tall American also helped to arrange an engine deal with Ford. At the team's Indy debut in 1963, he piloted this Lotus 29. This was effectively an enlarged and strengthened version of the revolutionary Type 25 Formula 1 car. Fitted with a push-rod V8, it was immediately competitive with Clark finishing a close second in the race. Now on display in the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, the ex-Gurney Type 29 was in Europe this year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Lotus at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and to honour Dan Gurney at the Goodwood Revival, where it was driven by John Surtees. We captured the rare machine in a 18-shot gallery, which serves to illustrate the detailed history of Lotus' first Indy racer.
This week, Opel announced the company's return to motorsport with the unveiling of two new competition cars; the Adam Cup and the Astra OPC Cup. The former is a rally car built to the FIA R2 regulations, which will compete in the Opel Rally Cup. The Astra OPC based racer is headed for the track and will be eligible for both the 'Astra OPC Cup' and the VLN series, which is run on the Nurburgring and includes the 24-hour race. Unfortunately no technical details have been released as yet but we will update the articles as soon as the full specs are available.

In a week's time, the Los Angeles Auto Show will open its doors to the gathered media. One of the stars will definitely be the Volvo S60 Polestar Concept. Powered by a 508 bhp version of the turbocharged six-cylinder engine also found in the S60 T6, it is the most powerful road legal Volvo ever built. Capable of sprinting to 100 km/h in under 4 seconds, it is also the quickest. Finished in Polestar's familiar 'Rebel Blue', the S60 on display in LA is a concept but it would surprise us if a production model will not follow.
Definitely headed for production is Jaguar's XFR-S, which will also make its world debut in Los Angeles. To build up anticipation, the British manufacturer has released a single teaser picture and limited information. We expect the high performance saloon to be powered by the same 542 bhp V8 that is also found in the XKR-S launched last year.
Joining Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force in the Los Angeles Design Challenge will be the BMW ePatrol. Penned by the German company's North American subsidiary DesignworksUSA, BMW's entry is an altogether more futuristic interpretation of the police car of 2025. The design of the ePatrol "centres on a modular structure and drone technology that enhanced both teamwork and accessibility."

Bugatti was the most successful racing car manufacturer of the 1920s and early 1930s. The French manufacturer also brought that racing pedigree to the road with production models based very closely on their Grand Prix winners. The finest of these racers for the road is undoubtedly the Type 55, also known as the 'Super Sport'. Launched at the 1931 Paris Auto Salon, it combined the new twin-cam engine of the Type 51 racer with a slightly larger chassis to seat two in some comfort. What really set the Type 55 apart from its predecessors and rivals was the fabulous Roadster bodywork penned by Jean Bugatti. Amazingly, the son of Ettore Bugatti was just 22-years old at the time. Although other bodies were also available for the race-bred chassis, the Roadster was the most popular for obvious reasons. Available for several years, only three dozen examples were ultimately built of the striking machine. Today they are highly sought after and many reside in the world's finest collections. This is certainly the case of the two examples featured today. Among their previous owners were the likes of Ralph Lauren and the late Peter Williamson. The two Bugatti Type 55 Roadsters are pictured in an 18-shot gallery at Pebble Beach and Villa d'Este.

Legendary South African designer Gordon Murray started his career in Formula 1 with the Brabham team, which was owned at the time by Bernie Ecclestone. In the second half of the 1970s, Murray experimented, with varying levels of success, with unconventional solutions like heat-exchangers instead of radiators and the controversial fan-car. Consistent success came when Murray adopted ground effect aerodynamics and the team switched back to Ford Cosworth power. The result was the BT49 launched late in 1979, which gradually evolved and was most successful in its 1981 BT49C guise. With this car Nelson Piquet won three Grands Prix, which was enough to clinch his first World Driver's Championship.
Today only a handful of Brabhams from the Ecclestone-era have escaped his grasp and as a result they are only very rarely seen in public. Fortunately, Ecclestone has made this chassis available to Spanish racer Joaquin Folch-Rusinol to campaign in the Historic Formula 1 Championship. At the recent Dix Mille Tours round, we captured what many consider to be one of the most beautiful F1 cars in full detail as can be seen in this 18-shot gallery.
Nissan Motorsports International (Nismo) have just released the new GT-R GT3 for the coming season. Compared to the car raced this year, it includes a variety of detail improvements to the engine, suspension and aerodynamics. Like its predecessor, the 2013 GT-R Nismo GT3 will be eligible for a wide variety of major championships around the world.
For the 2012 Los Angeles Design Challenge, Mercedes-Benz have created the Ener-G-Force. This is a futuristic impression of what the police car of the year 2025 will look like.

For over a decade, from the early 1950s to well into the 1960s, Ferrari dominated GT racing. In the those years, the focus of the Italian manufacturer did shift towards building road cars, which gradually became a core business rather than a means to go racing. This process was complete when Ferrari replaced the 275 GTB with the 365 GTB/4 Daytona in 1968 and did not develop a competition version. It did not take long, however, for the customer's to recognise the Daytona's potential and by 1969 the first racing version had been developed independently. Encouraged by that car's performance, Ferrari's North American importer Luigi Chinetti approached his old friend Enzo Ferrari again. The 'Old Man' was partly convinced and ordered not his competition but his customer service department to build a competition Daytona. Eventually fifteen were built in three series of five. Having scored class wins at Le Mans Daytona and taking an outright win at the Tour Auto, these Daytona Competiziones certainly proved a worthy successor to the many great GT racers produced in Maranello.
Today we take a close look at all five of the 'Series 1' Daytona Competiziones, which are pictured in a 36-shot gallery at major events on both sides of the Atlantic. Among the examples featured is the one driven by legendary actor Paul Newman to fifth in the 1977 Daytona 24 Hours as well as the 1974 Le Mans class-winning chassis. In the coming weeks you can also expect extensive galleries of the Series 2 and Series 3 Daytona Competiziones.

Lamborghini have today taken the wraps off the hotly anticipated Aventador LP700-4 Roadster. As the name suggests, this is the open version of the range-topping Aventador launched nearly two years ago. The car comes without a foldable roof but instead optional weather protection is offered by two removable sections. Crafted from carbon-fibre, they weigh only 6kg each and can be stored in the nose of the Aventador Roadster. There are numerous other detail changes that set the car apart from the fixed-head version, like the re-designed engined cover. The two do share the same 700 hp drivetrain that enables the Aventador Roadster to accelerate to 100 km/h in just 3 seconds and and gives the car a top speed of 350 km/h.
With the SLS AMG Black Series, Mercedes-Benz and AMG have released the fifth model in the limited edition and rather extreme 'Black Series'. Offering GT3 performance for the road, this new SLS version is equipped with a 630 hp engine and an aggressive body kit that includes a competition-inspired rear wing. It is also a little lighter than the 'standard' version. For interested customers, a little patience is required as the very hot SLS AMG Black Series will not hit the streets until June of next year.
Grabbing headlines last week for joining forces with Renault to produce the new Alpine, Caterham have now further expanded their line-up with this Supersport R. It is powered by a modified Ford Duratec engine that produces around 180 bhp. With a kerb weight of just 535 kg, that is more than enough to propel the compact machine to 100 km/h in well under 5 seconds. In kit form, the Supersport R is available for under GBP 25,000!

Crowned as the most elegant convertible at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance was this Delage D8-120 S Saoutchik Cabriolet. Commissioned by the French government, it stands out because of Saoutchik's parallel sliding doors. The one-off Delage was due to be shown at the 1939 Paris Salon but the show was cancelled at the last minute due to the threat of war. As a result, the car was never shown in public, apart from brief use by General Charles de Gaulle immediately after the War. Following a complete restoration, the car made its much belated debut at Pebble Beach where Saoutchik was the featured marque. We used the opportunity to capture the car and its unique door mechanism in great detail.
When new, the Delage D8 S was known as the king of the concours. The great coach-builders of the day cherished the opportunity to cloth the car because of its unusually low chassis. Among them was Claude Figoni, who created this very elegant Cabriolet. In addition to the Figoni coach-work, the car has also been fitted with the 'SS' package, which consists of four SU carburettors and boosts the power by 25 bhp to 145 bhp. Following a complete restoration, it was also shown at Pebble Beach this year, where it placed third in class. Our 12-shot gallery features the Figoni Delage both in action during the Tour d'Elegance and static on the Pebble Beach's 18th golf links.

Ahead of the official launch in January at the Detroit Motor Show, Maserati have released the first images of the all-new Quattroporte. The four-door model sports a heavily revised exterior and interior design, as well as a new V8 engine that will be hand-built in the Ferrari factory. No specifics have been revealed but the plates fitted on the Quattroporte. do read '530 HP'.
Almost exactly 40 years ago Italian sports car manufacturer Iso took the wraps off the Varedo at the Turin Motor Show. Intended for limited production, this mid-engined machine combined a sophisticated chassis developed by Giotto Bizzarrini with a body penned by Ercole Spada. Sadly the oil crisis intervened, and the car remained a one-off. Once again owned by Piero Rivolta, the Varedo made a rare public appearance earlier this year during The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering where the 50th anniversary of the Iso Rivolta was celebrated.
One of the new entries for next year's FIA World Endurance Championship will be this Lotus T128. Powered by a Judd-sourced V8 engine, the car has actually been developed in Germany for Colin Kolles' Kodewa team. They have, however, secured a licensing deal to market the striking LMP2 racer as the Lotus T128.
Compared to the outgoing model, the new Vauxhall Insignia VXR SuperSport boasts improved performance figures but also a significant reduction in price. The 170 mph machine will be now be available for less than GBP 30,000!

For many decades the Maserati brothers were at the forefront of Italian motor racing, first with the company bearing their own name and after the War under the OSCA name. The very last racing car produced by the then three remaining brothers was this OSCA 1600 SP. Using a brand new spaceframe chassis and a slippery body, this one-off was intended to run at Le Mans. Unfortunately by the time the car was ready, OSCA was absorbed by Agusta and the competition program shelved. Never raced in period, the 1600 SP is now owned by a son of the Maserati brothers, who has cherished it for over four decades. We caught with him and his lovely car earlier this year at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, which has resulted in this rare look at the Maserati brothers' very last racing car.
Of a completely different order is the Seat Ibiza Cupra announced today. It is the latest model in the hot Cupra range and boasts the Volkswagen Group's innovative turbo- and supercharged four cylinder engine. In the new Ibiza, it produces 180 hp and is mated to a DSG dual-clutch gearbox with seven forward gears. This allows the compact machine to accelerate to 100 km/h in under 7 seconds. The first Ibiza Cupras should arrive in the showrooms before the end of the year.

Unquestionably the most successful Formula 1 designer / engineer of the past two decades, Adrian Newey is on the brink of adding two more World Championships to his long list of accomplishments. In that period he created championship winning machines for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull Racing. Today we have taken a closer look at his first complete design for McLaren; the MP4-13 Mercedes. Although development was limited, it did reflect Newey's strong emphasis on efficiency and tight packaging. Among the changes compared to the earlier McLarens was the adoption of longitudinal springs and dampers, allowing for a narrower monocoque. Newey's first McLaren proved quick straight out of the box with Hakkinen and David Coulthard lapping the entire field at the season opener. This was the start of a closely fought championship between Hakkinen and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. A stellar drive at the season finale by the Fin put both the driver's and constructor's championships in the bag for McLaren.
At the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed, we were allowed a very close look at the very MP4-13 used by Hakkinen in the championship deciding final race of the year. No detail was missed in our 18-shot gallery, which includes both the car with all the covers off and being driven up the hill by Nick Heidfeld. The German is still the record holder on the famous hill-climb with a time of 41.6 seconds set back in 1999 in a sister MP4-13.