Earlier this month, we were in the Principality of Monaco to capture the thirteen edition of the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. Celebrating, the rich 95-year history of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix, the event saw historic racers from 1927 through to 1985 compete in eight different grids. New for this year was a field for early 1980s, naturally aspirated Formula 1 cars. As ever, the fields excelled both in quality and quantity with many cars competing that we do not see anywhere else. The colourful mix of machines included no fewer than three V12-engined Matras, the ground-breaking Lotus Type 78 and also a carbon-fibre McLaren MP4/1. Thankfully, there was more than a semblance of normalcy, which meant that the unique Monaco atmosphere had also returned.
We were trackside and in the paddock throughout the weekend with this class-by-class 170-shot gallery as the result. It serves to illustrate our concise report covering all eight races.

Italian sports car manufacturer Maserati has expanded the MC20 range with the drop-top Cielo. Italian for 'Sky', the Cielo features a retractable glass roof that can be transformed from transparent to opaque at the touch of a button. Although more versatile, the MC20 Cielo is 65 kg heavier than the highly acclaimed Coupe. Whether this will make much difference with what is generally considered to be the best Maserati road car in decades remains to be seen. For most customers the opportunity to run the car both open and closed will be hard to ignore.
Another very interesting new car announced this week is the Prodrive P25. Developed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Subaru Impreza World Rally Car. Based on a two-door Impreza shell, the P25 is effectively an improved version of the highly acclaimed 22B STi. It is powered by a 2.5-litre boxer engine that was developed in-house by Prodrive and is good for 400 bhp. The power is transferred through all four wheels by a six-speed, paddle-shift gearbox. The Prodrive P25 is limited to just 25 examples, all of which will be sold exclusively through our friends at Girardo & Co.
The latest addition to the Caterham line-up is this road-legal but track oriented Seven 420 Cup. It is powered by a 210 bhp Duratec engine and boasts a 375 bhp per tonne weight ratio. It also features adjustable Bilstein dampers for the first time. Available at Caterham dealers from 2023 onwards, the Seven 420 Cup can accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.6 seconds.

Although rumours of a record-breaking sale surfaced earlier this month, Mercedes-Benz and RM Sotheby's confirmed that one of two Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupes was sold for a staggering €135 million on May 5th. While it was previously unfathomable that the German company would sell one of these exquisite machines to a private customer, it now did so to raise money to establish the Mercedes-Benz Fund. This will provide educational and research scholarships in the areas of environmental science and decarbonisation for young people. A select group of collectors and/or their representatives was invited to bid at the Mercedes-Benz Museum on chassis 00008/55. The second of two built, it has little period history but was more recently restored to full running order and regularly demonstrated. Hopefully, this was not the last we saw of what is now the most expensive car sold at auction by quite a margin.
At this weekend Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, the BMW Group took the wraps of the all-new BMW M4 CSL and the second of three Rolls-Royce Boat Tail that will be built to custom order. The former is a lightened, limited production M4, which serves to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the BMW Motorsport department. Only 1,000 M4 CSLs will be built. The second Boat Tail was finished to custom order and is understood to have a price tag of well in to the eight figures. The first owner is in the pearling business and three of his most prized pearls have been integrated in the striking machine.
Italian sports car manufacturer Lamborghini is the latest to jump on the LMDh bandwagon. The new prototype is due to start racing in 2024 and should compete in all the major endurances events on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Porsche twin-turbo flat-six engine was a set fixture during the entire Group C era. This started with the 956 of which this example was the first built for a customer. Extensively raced in period, it was fielded by Kremer Racing at Le Mans in 1983 for Mario and Michael Andretti, and Philippe Alliot. They finished an impressive third overall. It was later sold to Japan where it continued to be raced until the the end of 1986. Despite its long racing career, chassis 956-101 survived in remarkable unscathed condition. Beautifully restored to its 1983 Le Mans livery, we captured the car at Monza a few years ago. It will be back in action this weekend at the Spa Classic.
Porsche not only sold complete cars, they also supplied components to other constructors. Among these was Courage, who fielded Porsche-powered Group C cars from the second half of the 1980s. Among the very last of these was the C30 LM of 1993. Built specifically to race at Le Mans, it later evolved into an open cockpit Le Mans Prototoype. In this guise the model continued to be campaigned for several more years. The second example built was chassis C30-010, which competed at Le Mans four times. Retained by Yves Courage for many years, it has more recently been restored to its 1993 configuration for its first private owner. It changed hands again last year and was campaigned at Mugello last month.

Inspired by the wild Mission R concept, Porsche have created the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance. It is effectively an all-electric version of the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport. The ePerformance is equipped with a drivetrain that can produce up to 1,000 hp but can also sustain running at 612 hp for 30 minutes. This is the equivalent of a Carrera Cup race and the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance should also be able to match the performance of the 911 GT3-based machine currently in use in the Carrera Cup. Although the car is still a concept, it is fully functional and will be demonstrated at a variety of events starting with the Goodwood Festival of Speed next month.
During the last week three high performance SUVs were launched. The most powerful of the three is the Cadillac Escalade-V. Powered by a 682 hp supercharged V8, it certainly deserves to be the 'V' specification Escalade.
Based on the latest full-size Range Rover is this Range Rover Sport. The current range-topping model is powered by a 530 hp V8 engine but a SVR model will surely follow.
Bentley have quite literally extended the Bentayga range with this Extended Wheelbase model. Aimed at the Chinese market, Bentley expect the EWB to represent 50% of all Bentayga sales.

Although still quite a few months away, RM Sotheby's have already announced two headliners for their Monterey sale. With a $7.5 - $9 million estimate, the Ferrari 275 GTB/C is expected to be the most valuable of the pair. It is one of just 12 built of what was the last GT competition car built in-house by Ferrari. Not actually raced in period, it spent a large part of its life in The Netherlands and more recently was comprehensively restored in the United States. Once the work was completed, 09067 was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2017.
Also available in August is this Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Alloy Gullwing. Mercedes-Benz built just 29 of these in period and this one survived with its original engine and, crucially, lightweight body. Restored by a marque expert, 198.043.5500383 should find a new custodian for in excess of $7 million. We will add more consignments to the lot list as soon as they are announced.

This weekend, we are at Monaco for the biennial Historic Grand Prix. As a small preview to this fabulous event, we have taken a closer look at four cars that have raced and/or will race through the streets of Monaco. One of the most spectacular looking and sounding is undoubtedly the Matra MS120C. Raced by Matra during the 1972 season, it was entrusted in period to Chris Amon. Both surviving MS120Cs will be at Monaco this weekend with the sound of the glorious V12 engine reverberating through the buildings.
Of a slightly earlier vintage is this Maserati 250F. It is an ex-works cars that was campaigned in period by Jean Behra and then appeared in the local racing colours at the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix. In more recent years, chassis 2521 was repainted in these colours and will once again represent Monaco on Sunday.
The 1952 Monaco Grand Prix was run not for single seaters but for sports cars instead. To mark that occasion, there is also an early-1950s sports car on the Historic Grand Prix roster. One of the cars competing in this race is this Jaguar C-Type. It is the very last regular production C-Type and the only one sold new to Ireland. Now in American hands, XKC 050 was raced at Monaco in 2018 and will be out again this weekend.
New for this year is a race for early 1980s, naturally-aspirated Grand Prix cars. That opens the door for a variety of cars including this Williams FW08C, which we captured in the past at Estoril and Zandvoort.

The latest one-off produced by Ferrari is this SP48 Unica. Designed at the Ferrari Styling Centre, the bespoke machine is based on the F8 Tributo. Mechanically little has changed, there are many subtle updates to the exterior design, which is complemented by the two-tone red and black livery. The SP48 Unica was developed for and together with a long-standing client.
Even before the first production car has rolled off the line, Lotus already made their racing intentions clear by extensively testing the upcoming Emira GT4. Based on the road car, it has a supercharged V6 that should be good for around 400 bhp depending on the balance of performance that will be applied. The Emira GT4 will make its racing debut later in the year.
Part of the busy Monaco Historic Grand Prix roster is the annual Bonhams Les Grandes Marques à Monaco sale. Among the highlights on the lot list are two 1980s icons; a Porsche 959 that was sold new to a Qatari Sheikh and a Ferrari Testarossa that was gifted to Gerhard Berger. Another fascinating car consigned is this Bugatti Type 37, which is offered from a single family ownership of nearly 65 years. Of an altogether newer vintage is this Williams FW21 Supertec. An ex-Alessandro Zanardi car, it was one of the cars produced by the famous team between the successful Renault and BMW years.

Based on the recently introduced Huracan STO, Lamborghini created the GT3 EVO2 competition car. As the name suggests, it is a further improvement of the successful GT3 racer. It is available as either a complete car, or as an upgrade package for existing owners. Among the changes is a single snorkel on the roof to feed fresh air into the engine through ten electronically actuated throttle bodies. There are also changes to the bodywork and the Huracán GT3 EVO2 also features a new splitter and rear wing.
A fruit of a stillborn competition program, Lamborghini produced 80 examples of the road-legal Diablo GT during the late 1990s. The 28th example off the line was finished in all-black and has now been consigned to the RM Sotheby's Monaco sale. Another Lamborghini on offer during the Monaco Historic Grand Prix next week is this Miura SV. A very famous example, it not only featured in period publicity photos but also stars on the cover of Joe Sackey's The Lamborghini Miura Bible, which was published in 2008. Now in German ownership, chassis 4884 was actually the first of just 20 examples that were delivered new to the United States. One of the auction headliners, it is estimated to sell for €2,200,000 - 2,600,000.