The Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is one of those annual motor shows BMW fans should make a note of attending as often as they can. This year was no different.
With a laundry list of some of the most prestigious cars ever built under the BMW group in attendance, there wasn’t a shortage of beautiful and exotic cars at the event. One of them being a replica of a 328 Kamm Coupe that was exclusively built by the people from BMW Classic. While only a replica - the original model was lost in the annals of history way back in 1953 - the 328 Kamm Coupe nevertheless drew a sizable crowd, thanks in large part to the car’s long-held esteem as one of the rarest and most sought-after cars in history.
Check out the video and see one of BMW’s most prestigious race cars in its history. Never mind if it’s a replica; it still looks as good as the original one.
Delahaye USA will unveil the Bugnotti Coupe in August at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It is a model inspired by the classic 1937 Type 57S which was originally built as a tribute to Ettore Bugatti’s son, Jean. Delahaye USA is passionate about the original Delahaye vehicles and has projected that passion into making quality replicas with modern chassis and engines.
All the company revealed on the Bugnotti Coupe is that it was designed using a specialized computer graphics system and will feature a carbon fiber body with a choice of two decklids; one with an externally mounted spare tire and the other with a smooth decklid and raised dorsal fin.
Besides the coupe version, Delahaye will also offer a removable Targa-style top version and a soft-top Drophead inspired by Ralph Lauren’s Gangloff bodied car.
It definitely takes the passion this company says they have to produce such a labor intensive model while removing all of the kinks that existed in the original Bugnotti’s. It takes even more passion to pull out your wallet and pay for one of these animal-like vehicles. Prices for these replicas vary from $450,000 for the allow bodied "turnkey" Bugnotti Coupe to $250,000 for the "carbon fiber appearance". Both of these models will come with the customer’s choice of engine. "Kit" cars will also be available with a price of $50,000 for the "carbon fiber appearance", $25,000 for the carbon fiber and composite compostion with a gel coat finish, and, finally, $20,000 for the composite cloth with a gel coat finish. Keep in mind; you get what you pay for. If you need further inspiration, take another look at the sensual beast above.
Zagato announced they will unveil the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa at the 2010 Villa D’Este Concorso d’Eleganza on April 24, 2010. As the third part of the celebration of Alfa Romeo’s centenary anniversary, the TZ3 Corsa is a symbol of the historical cooperation between the two brands. The first two parts being the Bertone and Pininfarina models unveiled at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The idea of "utilitarian beauty" found in the TZ3 Corsa is rooted in a philosophy of functionality and inspired by the tradition of motor racing shared by Zagato and Alfa Romeo since 1919.
The original Alfa Romeo TZ (Tubolare Zagato) was a small sports car built from 1963 to 1967. The TZ1 featured a 1570 cc twin cam engine that delivered a total of 160 Hp. It was capable of a top speed of 134 mph. The TZ2 was revealed in 1965. It featured a new fibreglass bodywork, but it was built only as a racing car. There were only 112 TZ1 units built and 12 TZ2, making from the sports car quite a desired car among the collectors.
We reported at the end of July that Bugatti will bring a special edition Veyron Grand Sport at the Pebble Beach weekend. And here it is: the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Sang Bleu, an exclusive supercar limited to only 20 units.
The Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Sang Bleu combines carbon fiber and polished aluminum - an innovative combination never realized before. The visual carbon fiber is tinted in royal blue to emphasize the refined volumes and surfaces of the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport. The rear airscoops are tinted in the same nightblue – offering a dramatic view from above – and thus fluidly integrate into the overall design philosophy of this unique model.
The rims are inspired by the Grand Sport Roadster and are highlighted in a Midnight Blue and Diamond Cut two tone finish. The interior is trimmed in a newly developed Gaucho leather.
As you know when we talk about the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance everything is exclusive. Exclusive is also the new Pininfarina Hyperion, based on the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. This is a special vehicle commissioned by a individual who has not yet been named. The new vehicle features no back seats and a new design for the interior: the front seats were pulled back almost sixteen inches due to the new sloping windshield.
As you expected everything in this car is at is done to a higher level of refinement, even the clock: premium watchmaker Girard Perregaux manufactured a special tourbillon timepiece which can be removed from its writs-strap and mounted into the dashboard. Also a gun rack was fitted in the front of the cabin.
This is the first car unveiled since the untimely death last week of Andrea Pininfarina, CEO and grandson of the company’s founder. His designs are revered throughout the industry, and while this Rolls Royce insures his legacy, it is unfortunate that it will be one of the last to his credit.
Porsche will unveil at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, the Porsche No. 1, the first two-seat sports ever built by Porsche.
This legendary sports car and the lynchpin of Porsche’s design philosophy began life in June 1947 as engineering project Type 356 in the Porsche design office in Gmünd, Austria. Officially known as Type 356-001, Ferry Porsche’s design concept took shape through the leadership of Karl Rabe, Porsche’s talented chief designer who worked alongside Ferry’s father to develop the original Volkswagen.
It is powered by a Volkswagen air-cooled, 1.31-liter flat-four engine that delivers just 25 horsepower at 3,300 rpm. The Porsche team enlarged the bore from 70 to 75 mm, increased compression from 5.8:1 to 7.0:1, and added slightly larger inlet valves and ports and twin carburetors, boosting output to between 35 and 40 horsepower.
The Targa version of the Veyron supercar will make its world debut this August at the 2008 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. According to some Inside Line sources production will begin in early 2009.
The Targa will get a removable hardtop, as well as an expandable fabric cover that clips into place. The chassis will be reinforced, and top speed will be limited to 217 mph.
The Targa will be built in limited numbers, around 75 or 80 units each priced with $250,000 above the Veyron’s price.
This year the BMW Group Design team took up the time-honoured tradition of designing cars exclusively for the Concorso d’Eleganza and unveiled its BMW M1 Homage. This design study, inspired by the BMW M1 and BMW Turbo, embraces tradition and modernism to give an insight into BMW’s own vision of a historically inspired automotive future.
Voted "Best of Show" by the Jury to take the Trofeo BMW Group was the Ferrari 166 MM Berlinetta Touring from the year 1949. Count Giannino Marzotto had acquired the Ferrari 166 MM from Enzo Ferrari, which was then given an aerodynamic coupé body by Touring based on their trademark superleggera, or lightweight, construction method.
This model was exhibited at the 1950 Geneva Motor Show. The Ferrari was then equipped with a new V12 Colombo Type 195 engine and went on to win the 1950 Mille Miglia. In the late 1950s the Ferrari was deployed in small-scale racing events in the USA before being sold with its original 1949 engine to an American collector in 1965, who kept it until 2001. Its present owner, John Croul, acquired the car in 2003 and had it completely restored to its original condition. <
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Pininfarina, Vignale, Zagato, Scaglietti, Bertone, Boano & Ellena, Motto, Fissore, Boneschi, Castagna, Frua, Viotti… and Touring Superleggera. These are just a few Italian brands, who starting the beginning of the twentieth century until today (even if with just a few names remained in history), were regarded as artists in the auto market. Their clients at that moments were the nobles, the gentlemen who wanted to transform their cars into a masterpiece of design but, above all into an agile, lightweight model that could compete with any other car with no trouble.
But this was long time ago. This week-end the history made a successful return at the Concorso D’Eleganza Villa D’Este, where the Touring Superleggera, founded in 1926 by Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderlon, presented a special concept as a return to those glorious days: the Maserati A8 GCS.
The A8GCS shares the engine and the transmission with the Maserati GranTurismo; it has a weight of only 1,200 kg. The engine is placed in the front middle of the car, what makes it have the characteristic long hood and the small and short cabin.
As about its design, at the front there is a great grid typical Maserati with headlights set. At the rear dominates the characteristic four headlights with four twin discharges.
Fifty-three years ago, the LaSalle II Roadster and the Chevrolet Biscayne were among the concepts that showcased General Motors’ vision of the future in its traveling Motorama. After the debut of this automotive eye candy, these cars were not only discarded but destroyed.
Throughout the 1950s, the General Motors Motorama took concept cars on tour to cities throughout the United States, inviting the public to enter the future by stepping through the doors of a GM automobile. After each cross-country show was concluded, these futuristic cars were relegated to the trash heap. In fact, since most of these vehicles had not been road tested, GM often ordered their total destruction to prevent legal problems.
General Motors will also be bringing nearly a dozen dream cars that the company itself has saved, and these cars will join the Bortz Collection and Motorama treasures owned by other collectors during the Concours’ celebration of the General Motors Centennial.
Lines from the 1955 LaSalle II Roadster can be found in such icons as the ’56 and ‘57 Corvette, while lines from the 1955 Chevrolet Biscayne are visible in the 1960 Corvair.
The Motorama cars that will be appearing at Pebble Beach will be joined by a rare assortment of GM Woodies, Cadillac V-16s and GM-powered sports cars. Other featured marques for 2008 include Lancia and Lamborghini.
