On Thursday, next week, British auctioneer Bonhams will host the annual Les Grandes Marques du Monde sale in the fantastic Grand Palais. One of our favourite cars consigned is a great example of the Abarth 2000 Sport Spider. Introduced in 1968, it was aimed at the Group 4 category and accordingly around 50 examples were built of the rear-engined sports prototype. It was hugely successful both on the track and in hill-climbs. Today it is often referred to as the 'quattre fari' in reference to the four headlights. The chassis consigned was raced successfully in 1970 and 1971 and later spent many decades in the fabulous Maranello Rosso Collection museum.
Among the many other great cars that will star in the sale is a beautiful Mercedes-Benz 540 K Cabriolet that was delivered new to Liberia's Consul-General to Hamburg. It was acquired by the late king of Jordan in 1985 and has now been consigned to the sale by the country's royal family.
Also consigned are a one-off Delahaye 135 MS Ghia-Aigle Coupe, an early BMW 507 Roadster that competed in last year's Tour Auto and an ex-works Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185 that was driven to victory in the 1994 San Remo rally by Carlos Sainz.
This morning, British specialist manufacturer Ginetta revealed a first glimpse of a brand Supercar. It will be built around a carbon-fibre composite monocoque and will be powered by a naturally aspirated V8 that produces over 600 bhp.

For the discerning collector looking to add a complete range of Bugatti supercars to their stable next week's RM Sotheby's Paris sale provides the perfect opportunity with no fewer than four recent Bugattis consigned. Earliest of the quartet is this very rare EB 110 SS. It is one of just 31 'Super Sport' examples built and with 916 km on the odometer, it is offered in as-new condition. The EB 110 is estimated to sell for �1.3 - 1.8.
Also included in the sale are a pair of low mileage Veyrons; a �1.5 - 1.7 million Super Sport and a �1.5 - 1.8 Grand Sport Vitesse.
The most recent of of the four Bugattis is a virtually brand new Chiron that was delivered to the consignor in August of 2017. It is estimated to sell for �2.35 - 2.75 million.
The sports car racing season started in earnest this weekend with the Daytona 24 Hours. The fabulous Mazda RT24-P snatched pole on Thursday, smashing the 26-year old lap record along the way. Sadly, both Mazdas were forced to retire during the night. There were no such issues for the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, which in the hands of Jordan Taylor, Renger van der Zande, Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi grabbed the victory after a rain affected 24 Hours. This was the third consecutive win at Daytona for the V8-engined, Dallara-based machine.

The sports car racing season will start in earnest this weekend with the Daytona 24 Hours. To get you in the mood, we have taken a closer look at three cars that have scored outright victories in the past. The most successful of the trio is the Riley & Scott Mk III, which scored no fewer than 47 outright victories during the second half of the 1990s. Powered by a wide variety of engines, the Mk III was one of the first racing cars designed using CFD. Of the 17 examples constructed by Riley & Scott, the featured example was the third. It was raced for a remarkable eight seasons by a variety of teams, using Oldsmobile, Chevrolet and Ford engines along the way. We captured chassis 003 at the recent Le Mans Classic.
The outright winner 25 years ago was the Nissan 300ZX IMSA. Fielded in the IMSA GTO class, the Clayton Cunningham Racing designed and built machine had its best season in 1994, when it not only won at Daytona but also secured a victory in the Sebring 12 Hours. The Sebring winning car has recently been returned to full running order and has been campaigned by its original driver Steve Millen.
A surprise outright winner was this Porsche 911 GT3 RS, which claimed victory in 2003. This was quite an upset as it beat the faster but far more fragile Daytona Prototypes, which were raced for the very first time. The Daytona winner still boasts its distinct Racer's Group livery used back in 2003.

After a week of frantic bidding, the results are in from Scottsdale. The top seller this year was the ex-Nicholas Cage Ferrari 250 GT SWB that was sold at the Gooding auction for just over $7.5 million. The sale itself was also the most successful with a $48 million total. At rival RM Sotheby's, this low mileage Ferrari 288 GTO lead the way with a final sale price of $3.4 million, while the Bonhams auction was topped by this fabulous Maserati A6G 2000 Frua Spider.
Having been successful in the past with this Rally Monte Carlo winning Porsche 911, the German manufacturer have now announced a return to rallying in the R-GT class. Offering a first glimpse of what is to come is this 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport Rallye Concept that was demonstrated this weekend at a Volkswagen Group gathering in the Zell am See winter sport resort.
On the other side of the world, during the Race of the Champions in Mexico, the new VUHL 05RR broke cover. It represents a further development of the small Mexican sports car. Compared to the original 05, it is both lighter and more powerful. The 05RR is for sale in select markets with immediate effect.
Ahead of the official launch, Reiter Engineering have released another teaser of the upcoming Xymera, which clearly shows that the intriguing machine will be an off-road vehicle.

The major auctions in Scottsdale kick off today with the first of the two-day RM Sotheby's sale. Undoubtedly to the delight of Group B enthusiasts the sale offers both a 'regular' Ford RS200 and the ultimate specification RS200 Evo. Designed by F1 engineers and quite possibly the most sophisticated of all Group B cars, the RS200 eventually arrived too late to be a force in the World Rally Championship. The mid-engined RS200 featured a highly unusual front transaxle and for the unraced Evo version a twin-clutch gearbox was under development. The RS200 on offer was cherished most of its life and has been carefully stored since 1989. Accordingly, it has covered only 8,400 miles from new. The Evo due to cross the block was not raced in period and was part of a formidable collection of Group B cars from 1989 through to 2017. It has since been overhauled and is ready to go.
Across town, Bonhams will stage their one-day sale today. Among the most interesting lots in their catalog is this Moretti 1200 Sport Spider. One of two built with this body, it is great example of the lovely machines built completely in-house by Moretti. The chassis on offer was originally shown at the Brussels Motor Show back in 1955 and more recently starred at Pebble Beach.

Like we predicted last week, the latest addition to the McLaren line-up is the 600LT Spider. Like the Coupe introduced last year, the 600LT is based on the 570S and features a more powerful engine, more aggressive and a 100kg lower weight. Compared to the Coupe, the new 600LT Spider is only 50kg thanks to the strong MonoCell II chassis, which requires no additional strengthening. The 600LT Spider is available to order and production is limited.
Continuing our coverage of this week's NAIAS, we have today added a further four releases from the show in Detroit. First up is the Subaru STI S209. Powered by a 341 bhp version of the familiar boxer engine, this is the first 'S' model STI that is available exclusively on the American market. Production of the high performance machine will be strictly limited to just 200 examples.
Hyundai revealed their latest touring car racer, the Veloster N TCR. Equipped with a 350 bhp engine, the Veloster N racer is due to compete in IMSA's Michelin Pilot Challenge with the works effort run by Bryan Herta Autosport.
The NAIAS also featured a pair of concepts launched by Nissan and luxury subsidiary Infiti. The first of these is the Nissan IMs Concept. The all-electric machine is a preview for a new model in the Nissan range to sit above the Leaf. Infiniti revealed this QX Inspiration show car. This is a mid-sized SUV and serves as the precursor for the Japanese make's first all-electric production car.

After months, even years of speculation, the all-new Toyota Supra finally broke cover today on the opening day of the 2019 North American International Auto Show. Teased with show cars and camouflaged prototypes, the exterior design of the rear-wheel drive coupe is no surprise. While a four-cylinder engine will also be available for some markets, the top-of-the-range model features a supercharged, straight-six engine that produces 335 bhp. This is fed to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The Supra will be available to order shortly and in the United States prices start below the $50,000 mark.
Another highly anticipated car that debuted in Detroit this morning is the Ford Shelby Mustang GT500. Based on the howling GT350, this is the first Mustang to wear the GT500 moniker in five years. It features a supercharged version of its smaller brother's flat-plane V8 that will produce over 700bhp, making the new GT500 the most powerful production Mustang to date.
Lexus used the NAIAS to showcase an updated of the RC F model. All-new to the line-up is the Track Edition, which is a more hardcore version that uses the same 472bhp V8 but with a reworked chassis and more aggressive bodykit. Another new Lexus release today was the LC Convertible Concept, which undoubtedly offers a first glimpse of the the production convertible version of the LC coupe.

The third major auction company staging a sale at Scottsdale next week is Gooding & Co.. For their Scottsdale Auctions, the California-based company consigned some fabulous Ferraris. Today we highlight four of them, which are all expected to sell for well over $5 million. The rarest of the bunch is the actual 275 GTB Prototype. Not only was this car shown during the 275 GTB's Paris Auto Show debut, it was later also raced in the 1966 Rally Monte Carlo. It was later restored to its Rally Monte Carlo configuration complete with the driving lights and unique engine cover. The unique chassis 06003 is estimated to sell for $6-8 million.
Also consigned to the sale are a pair from the famed 250 GT family. The earliest of these is this $5.75-6.5 million 250 GT TdF, which last changed hands almost two decades ago. One of the last 250 GTs built is this 250 GT SWB, which was once owned by actor Nicholas Cage.
One of our favourites is this fabulous 250 MM Vignale Spyder. It was among the last Ferraris clothed by Vignale and was raced extensively in period. Now carefully restored, it was last since in public in 2012.
At the Toyota Auto Salon this morning, Toyota Gazoo Racing revealed a styling concept for the Supra it plans to race in the Super GT Championship from the 2020 season onwards. With Super GT and DTM synching regulations, there is a fair chance that the Supra will race in Europe as well.
Other major racing news came from the Autosport International Show yesterday where Brabham Automotive announced their plans to return to Le Mans. The car used will have to be based on a road car and Brabham indicates that this to be released machine will be a further development of the highly acclaimed BT62.

Less than two months after Porsche debuted the eighth generation 911, the Cabriolet version has been revealed. Like the coupe version of the '992', Porsche used Carrera S and Carrera 4S versions to debut the Cabriolet. Both are powered by a 450 hp version of the twin-turbo flat-six engine.
Although initially intended as a track-day special, Brabham have now announced the GBP 150,000 option to make the BT62 road legal. For the European market the conversion will be carried out by RML, who can also convert the Aston Martin Vulcan to road-legal specification.
McLaren have offered the first glimpse of the fifth model to wear the LT badge, which will be officially revealed next week. No further details have been released but we are sure that the new car will be the Spider version of the highly acclaimed 600LT.
German manufacturer Audi have launched a facelift of the TTS Coupe and TTS Roadster.

One of the first major releases of the year is the Lamborghini Huracan EVO announced today. As the name suggests, it is an evolution of Lamborghini's 'entry-level' model. Among the changes is an additional 30 hp from the naturally aspirated V10 engine and a more aggressive aerodynamics package. A first for Lamborghini found on the Huracan EVO is the 'Lamborghini Dinamica Veicolo Integrata', which combines all the vehicle dynamic controls into one system. This allows the car to anticipate the next move and needs of the driver, interpreting this into perfect driving dynamics. This undoubtedly will make for a faster car but whether it will be as much fun to drive remains to be seen.
For those of you more interested in an altogether rawer Lamborghini, the Bonhams Scottsdale Auction features a very interesting Miura SV. It was one of 13 examples built for the United States market to the ultimate split-sump specification. One of the last built, it remained unsold for several months but eventually found an owner that would go on to cherish this Miura for the next 45 years. He has now finally decided to let the car go and it is estimated to sell for $1.7 - 2.1 million.

In February, Porsche will start deliveries of the all-new 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. It is the second generation GT4 specification Cayman, the first of which had a stunning production run of 421 cars. The new GT4 Clubsport features a 40hp more powerful engine and is available in competition and trackday trim. More sophisticated, the competition version features among other things adjustable suspension, a larger fuel tank and a built-in air-jack system.
One of the spiritual predecessors of the Cayman is the 904 Carrera GTS racing car of the 1960s. Of this, Porsche's first fibreglass bodied racer, a fabulous example will cross the block in two weeks time at the Bonhams Scottsdale Auction. Originally delivered to the United States, it has survived in largely original condition despite being raced by its second and third owner. Since 1982, 904-012 has had just two owners and is now offered from a Danish Porsche collection. From that same stable comes an equally rare Porsche 356 Carrera 2 GS Cabriolet. One of just 32 drop-tops built with the two-litre engine, the car on offer spent its early life in Germany but has been in the same Danish hands for three decades. Both Porsches will require a seven-figure bid to change hands.

We would like to kick off with wishing you all the best for the new year. As always, the first major events on the international classic car calendar are the barrage of auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona. Among the major sales is the RM Sotheby's auction and today we take a look at two of the headlining Ferraris.
The earliest of the pair is this 250 GT Pinin Farina Coupe Speciale that was built in 1957 to the custom order for Princess Liliane de R�thy, who was the wife of the Belgian king. The second of three one-off Ferraris she would order, this unique Ferraro was effectively a coupe version of the 250 GT Cabriolet that was also built by Pinin Farina. Owned by the Princess for close to a decade, it has since been predominantly in American hands and the most recent custodian has owned 0751GT for over two decades. For the rare opportunity to acquire the royal Ferrari, RM Sotheby's estimates only bids of over $10 million will suffice.
Another top dollar consignment is the LaFerrari Aperta. One of just 210 examples built, this car was delivered to a prominent West Coast supercar collector. Since taking delivery in 2017, the first owner covered just 1,500 miles. Oversubscribed when new, the LaFerrari Aperta is now valued at $6.5 - $8.5 million, which represents a 300% value increase in barely two years.