Ferrari takes Manhattan
Ferrari hosted a gala for its new charitable educational foundation this week in New York City, at The Shed in the Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side. As part of this, the Italian exotic carmaker displayed 14 “game changing” vintage and contemporary vehicles outside the sculptural Vessel structure. These included vehicles from the contemporary Prancing Horse lineup such as the Purosangue and 296 GTB; custom Icona cars like the Monza SP1 and Daytona SP3; vintage supercars like the Enzo, La Ferrari, F40, and F50; and racing cars like the 66M, F1-89, and 333 SP. According to a Ferrari spokesperson, 40,000 people visited the space on the first day it was open.
The brand also hosted screenings of the forthcoming Michael Mann movie, “Ferrari,” for top clients, following its premiere at the New York Film Festival. Adam Driver, who plays Enzo Ferrari in the dramatic biographical film, attended the gala along with Mann, who, in addition to being a Ferrari owner has also shot promotional video for the brand. Actor Nicholas Hoult (“The Great,” “Renfield”) who has been training to race in the Ferrari Challenge Series, also attended. A performance by musician John Legend was the evening’s entertainment.
If this isn’t enough of a big-city presence, Ferrari also runs a very fancy client showroom uptown on Park Avenue, one of just three Tailor Made sites in the world (the others are in Maranello and Hong Kong), constructed to help clients customize their cars with special high-profit leathers, trim bits, paint-to-sample colors, and the like.
All of this raises the question, why is Ferrari betting so big on New York, the least car-friendly city in America? “We wanted to have also something here in New York, on the East Coast, to be connected with the local community here,” says Enrico Galliera, the Italian marque’s chief marketing officer, as we sit together on the 24th floor of the Equinox Hotel in Hudson Yards, overlooking the events in the plaza from on high. (As we stare outside, a Ferrari spokesperson points out that the brand’s first importer in America, Luigi Chinetti, had his dealership just a few blocks south on 11th Avenue.)
As a test driver of high end sport and luxury vehicles for 15 years, a New York resident for over 30 years, and a car lover for far longer, I can attest that seeing a Ferrari driving through the city is an extremely rare experience, unless I am behind the wheel. But apparently, Ferraris are hidden all over town.
“You will be surprised to know how many Ferrari collectors there are in New York and how many big collections there are in Manhattan,” says Galliera. “When I came years ago, I went to visit one of these big collectors that is living in Manhattan, and all his collection is underground in the parking lot of his building. And he was telling me, you know, Enrico, I’m working here. Whenever I get stressed in my work, I take the elevator, I go downstairs in the basement, I decide which one, and then I jump in one, I take it out to drive, I relax, and I go back to work. So in Manhattan, maybe it’s not the best place where you can see Ferraris, but there’s a lot of Ferraris and a lot of big collectors in Manhattan.”
The Tailor Made site has also been a rousing success. “Since the beginning, we understood that there was a huge potential for the client experience. And now it has become an important center of our meetings for clients that visit in New York,” says Galliera. I note that, since it opened in late 2019, Lamborghini and Aston Martin have both opened similar sites in the city. “I didn’t visit them yet,” Galliera says, smiling. “But you know, I keep saying that as far as your competitors, I’m not saying copying. But if they try to do whatever you did before, it means that it was successful.”
At the gala, Ferrari auctioned off a customized one-off 812 Competizione for $5.1 million, as well as other Prancing Horse-branded and -adjacent ephemera, to help fund its educational initiative. The company raised a total of $7 million for the charity. So, at the end of our conversation, I asked Galliera how he would measure success for the event, and its potential continuation: Raising money? Raising awareness? Raising engagement?
“I think all these point that you said,” he said, smiling again. “But I would not measure engagement, because it’s already there.”
You can own the original Mk 1 Ford GT 40 press car
There have been plenty of Ford racing cars over the years, but none have a legacy that can hold a candle to the GT40’s. The iconic racer took Ford to victory at Le Mans, earning it a starring role in the recent film “Ford vs. Ferrari.” Though they’re exceedingly rare, GT40s occasionally pop up for sale, and one of the more interesting early examples recently surfaced on the UK’s PistonHeads car sales site.
This Ford GT40 was the original press car issued to journalists in the UK for testing and photography. It was originally used as a show and display car, appearing at the Geneva Auto Show in 1967. It was repainted during that time, changing from its factory Opalescent Silver Blue to Metallic Borneo Green.
After its modeling career and a test drive by Formula 1 champ Graham Hill, the car was sold to a collector who repainted it yellow and took it vintage racing. The GT40 also appeared at the Goodwood Revival in 2007 before being returned to street spec and repainted in its original blue hue.
The Mk 1 road cars are super rare, with only 31 produced, though the entire GT 40 production run only includes 105 cars. Race-winning cars have sold for several million dollars, and a prototype hit almost $7 million at auction 10 years ago. This car’s backstory and gorgeous spec will likely drive its price deep into the millions as well. The price is available on request, and we’re willing to bet it’s a shocker.
That said, there is no shortage of reproduction cars, though they often carry hefty price tags of their own. Superformance offers a painstakingly accurate GT 40 that is so close to the original that parts are interchangeable between new and old cars. While not “real” GT 40s, the cars start at more than $150,000 just for the rolling chassis, and complete cars can sometimes reach a quarter-million dollars.
Related video:
Surviving Countach from ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ headed to auction
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Goodwood Festival of Speed cancels Saturday events due to weather
The Goodwood Festival of Speed will not hold events as planned Saturday for the first time in its 30-year run due to concerns over high winds, the organizers announced late Friday. Concerns over the potential for damage to temporary structures prompted the late cancellation after a long Friday of (appropriately?) dreary British weather promised to worsen ahead of Saturday’s competition.
Saturday ticket holders will be refunded, event organizers said, and Sunday’s events will go on as planned. The full announcement from the Duke of Richmond and the Festival of Speed Team follows.
It is with deep regret that we have taken the decision that the Goodwood Festival of Speed will not go ahead tomorrow (Saturday 15 July 2023). After consulting meteorologists, health and safety experts and other key stakeholders, we have taken the decision to close the event site due to a severe wind warning in the Goodwood area.
On-site safety is our highest priority and the forecasted high winds will pose a serious risk to various temporary structures across the site. We politely ask that you do not travel to Goodwood or attempt to access the site.
This decision has not been made lightly and His Grace, The Duke of Richmond, along with the whole Festival of Speed team, are deeply saddened that we will not run the event on Saturday for the first time in its 30 year history.
The event will resume as planned on Sunday.
Please note: Sunday is a sold out day. Anyone with a Saturday ticket will not be able to access the site. All ticket holders for Saturday will be communicated with in the coming days regarding a refund, and we ask that customers requesting refunds please do not try to contact the ticket office over the weekend.
Please pass this message on to any other ticket holders in your group.
Thank you for your understanding – further updates will be provided via email in due course. If you are camping over the weekend, you are welcome to stay in the campsites. Please be careful during the high winds and consider taking down gazebos and awnings, securing tents with additional pegs or demounting during the peak wind period. If you have any problems, please keep in touch with Goodwood through our campsite managers in the office.
Watch a Rimac Nevera set two dozen speed and acceleration records in a day
Rimac is no stranger to ultra-quick EVs, but its latest model is on a different level entirely. The Nevera recently recorded 23 new performance records, setting a new 0-400-0 kilometers-per-hour record and many more.
Rimac took the Nevera to a German test track, where it took just 1.81 seconds to reach 100 kmh (62 mph) and ran the quarter mile in 8.25 seconds. The standing mile flew by in 20.59 seconds, and Rimac set several other staggering records for acceleration between speed markers, such as 1.74 seconds for 0-60 mph and 3.21 seconds for 0-100 mph.
One of the more impressive numbers put up by the car was its 0-400-0 km/h (0-249-0 mph) time of 29.93 seconds. The assessment tests the car’s acceleration, aerodynamics, top speed, and braking, and Rimac said the Nevera did it more than a second faster than the previous record holder. A Koenigsegg Regera ran the test in 31.49 seconds in 2019.
Rimac equipped the car with street-legal Michelin Cup 2 R tires and ran the tests on a non-prepped surface. Testing took place at the Automotive Testing Papenburg facility, and Dewesoft and RaceLogic verified the records. Speed records sometimes run into trouble when doubters question the validity of testing, so having two independent testers on site is understandable.
While impressive, the records seem like a requirement for a $2 million-plus electric hypercar. Rimac began production on the car in late 2022, and the 1,914-horsepower electric powertrain uses four electric motors to generate its prodigious output. Surprisingly, the battery can support way more horsepower, but the car’s well-heeled buyers will have to make do with “just” 1,914 horses. Rimac claims a 258-mph top speed for the car, and the EPA estimates a 205-mile cruising range, though using more than a few horsepower at a time will likely shorten that distance by quite a bit.
Aston Martin will celebrate 110 years with a special car
Aston Martin turns 110 this year, and of course it’s going to celebrate the way any car company would: creating a special car. But this is, presumably, not the Aston Martin DBS 770 that was teased just recently.
Unfortunately, what this special Aston is, is wide open for speculation. With Aston’s anniversary announcement, it gave absolutely no details nor even a shaded teaser image. And the time frame is “later this year.”
So let’s speculate. Certainly a way to really wow fans and wealthy customers with a special anniversary car would be to do a version of the company’s halo car, the Valkyrie. After all, it’s so important that Aston used it in the anniversary announcement photos along with the 1923 Razor Blade race car. Maybe it’ll be a higher-output Valkyrie with extra slippery body work as a throwback to the Razor Blade. Or not! Like we said, it could be almost anything.
And in trying to narrow down a reveal date, there are a few key events for supercar builders to reveal machinery. The first would be the Geneva Motor Show, which is sort of happening this year. It’s being run by the same organizers, but the location is in Qatar. Then in the summer is the Goodwood Festival of Speed. If the car hasn’t been revealed before then or during, it would be a great opportunity for Aston to run a camouflaged version of the car up the hill.
At the very least, we’re sure we’ll see this special Aston no later than the Pebble Beach Concours. And with how the show effectively turned into the successor to the Geneva show last year, it would be a great location, as well as about the last big wealthy car show of the year, if it isn’t shown sooner.
Related video:
McLaren sells historic cars to raise cash to fund Artura upgrades
Cash-strapped McLaren Holdings Ltd. has recently sold some of its prized heritage car collection to Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat Holding Co. to raise capital.
The supercar maker was forced to seek an injection of funds after identifying “certain technical upgrades” on its Artura hybrid supercar that triggered delivery delays, McLaren said earlier this week during its third-quarter earnings. Its main shareholder — with Mumtalakat owning a near 60% stake — agreed to support the company with an additional £100 million ($123 million), the company said.
A McLaren spokesman confirmed the sale of some heritage vehicles to the company’s main shareholder in return for the cash infusion, without elaborating on the details of the cars sold.
McLaren’s heritage vehicles count 54 rare Formula 1 racing cars and F1 supercars, according to its 2021 annual report. The same report states that the company sells cars from its collection from time to time.
“We are in active talks with all shareholders regarding a recapitalization of the group,” McLaren said on the call, indicating the additional funds won’t be enough. It’s also continuing talks for potential partnerships.
McLaren reported a loss of £203 million in the nine months through September, compared with a £69 million loss a year ago. Liquidity at the end of the third quarter declined to £87 million, down from £171 million.
The British marque has sought emergency financing multiple times over the past few years from shareholders amid long delays in the launch of the Artura. The latest round of fundraising comes just months after its shareholders — which also include investment firm Ares Management Corporation and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — gave £125 million through convertible preference shares.
Related video:
Buy a Ferrari like the one driven by the Sultan of Brunei. It ain’t cheap
A video featuring a very blond blonde and a very red Ferrari? That’s certainly one way to attract some attention.
We don’t have the skinny on the lady, but the Testarossa Spider is straight out of the annals of wretched excess. It goes on the auction block in London next Saturday with opening bids at $1.6 million. The video is a teaser tweet for the event.
According to documentation offered by the auction house of RM Sotheby’s, this 1990 stunner, a “Special Production” Pininfarina-engineered convertible, was part of a custom lot of Ferraris commissioned by a high-roller in the Brunei royalty household. In 2021, when, according to Sotheby’s, it was “revived from its life-long state of static display,” the car was shuttled to two factories in Italy for “restoration.” The cost was 94,300 Euros to repair the top’s latch and repaint the machine. Another 83,170 Euros was budgeted to fiddle with a new clutch and “refresh” the interior. Lay those numbers on your local garage.
It’s believed, the press release goes on to say, that, in the end, Pininfarina made seven almost identical but ultimately unique “Spider” adaptations, “each finished in a different exterior and interior color combination.” And, in addition to these Brunei cars, a very small number of Testarossa Spiders, like the one to go on auction, were built for important clients, including the current consignor, who ordered his (or hers) in 1989. There are a reported 413 kilometers on the clock.
But wait: apparently maestro Pininfarina — perhaps in the throes of an eccentric mood — rebelled back in the Eighties against the convention of assigning just a common 17-digit vehicle identification numbers to his creations, and so identified the car described above with the VIN of “EFG092.” Go figure.
Related video:
Lotus Eletre electric SUV will rock close to 900 horsepower
Eight hundred and ninety-three.
That’s the announced horsepower of the Lotus Eletre, from the venerable British house of Lotus, and it’s not attached to a difficult-to-climb-into sports car, but a “hyper” all-electric SUV. Other notable numbers: 726 pound-feet of torque, 0-to-62 mph in a hair under 3 seconds, and a top speed of 165 mph.
Due to arrive next summer, the flagship Eletre R is a wild departure from a company that regularly built featherweight cars with no more than 100 horsepower. According to Britain’s Autocar, the most powerful Eletre will cost 120,000 pounds (about $140,000) when goes on sale in the U.K. next summer. It will likely be exported to the U.S. and China as well.
Standard equipment includes active air suspension, torque vectoring, an active front grille, LED headlights and a set of 22-inch wheels. Inside, all Eletres are fitted with electrically adjustable seats, wireless phone charging and four-zone climate control.
Among the Eletre versions are a base model and the Eletre S making 603 horsepower and using a single-speed gearbox. The Eletre R will be the only model with a Track Mode, which lowers the ride height and gives it more aggressive damping.
Lotus, which is owned by the China-based Geely group, was founded 74 years ago by Colin Chapman. Under his direction, Lotus won seven F1 constructors’ titles and six Drivers Championships.
Looking to reserve an Eletre? The Lotus website suggests you contact your local dealer (and offers a dealer locator). Lotus says that the R model is to be the first of four that are to come from the company by 2025,
One-of-five Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione up for auction
Ferrari doesn’t normally dabble in the mundane, but some of its cars are rarer than others. A perfect example is the 288 GTO Evoluzione, a race car-turned-test bench that the company built five units of in the 1980s. While these rarely come up for sale, one is currently being auctioned.
Many enthusiasts are familiar with the 288 GTO, but the Evoluzione model remains substantially more obscure. Ferrari initially developed it to compete in the Group B rally category’s tarmac events. You didn’t need to be a seasoned car-spotter to tell the Evoluzione apart from the standard 288 GTO: it featured a specific, Pininfarina-designed body made with Kevlar and fiberglass and a carbon fiber rear wing. Power came from a 650-horsepower evolution of the road car’s 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine. Ferrari quoted a top speed of 230 mph.
Had it raced, the 288 GTO Evoluzione could have given Ferrari’s rivals a serious run for their money. It didn’t get the chance to compete because the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) eliminated the Group B class from international rally events in 1986. Ferrari instead used the 288 GTO Evoluzione to test some of the features it later brought to production in the F40, and it’s not a coincidence that several styling cues link the two cars.
Built in 1987, and assigned chassis number 79888, the 288 GTO Evoluzione listed by RM Sotheby’s is the fourth example built. It was finished in 1988 and sold to Belgian pilot Jean Blaton in December of that year. The selling dealer purchased it in 1992 and kept it until a private collector in the United Kingdom bought it in 2006. The car then went through the hands of current Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll, Rick White, David SK Lee, and David Raisbeck. It’s been housed in a private collection located in Europe since 2019.
RM Sotheby’s notes that Italian dealer and repair center Michelotto recently performed a €133,000 (about $130,000) service on this 288 GTO Evoluzione. The list of parts replaced includes the fuel lines, engine oil lines, brake lines, driveshaft boots, seatbelts and windows. Both turbochargers, the water pump, parts of the suspension syste, and the brake calipers were overhauled as well. And the transmission and clutch were serviced, the tires were changed, and the body was repainted in the original Rosso Corsa color.
Act fast if you want it: the auction closes on October 21, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Paris time (that’s noon in New York and 9:00 a.m. in California). RM hasn’t provided a pre-auction estimate but this won’t be a bargain. The firm sold a standard 288 GTO for $4.4 million in August 2022.
Related Video:
Father of Disco’s Cizeta-Moroder had ’80s looks, double pop-up lights and a V16
Auction house RM Sotheby’s is giving collectors with a penchant for obscure Italian supercars from the 1980s a rare opportunity. One of the classics it will offer during its January 2022 sale is the original Cizeta-Moroder V16T prototype that was displayed at several car shows.
Cizeta-Moroder isn’t a household name. When you think “Italian wedge,” odds are you imagine a Lamborghini Countach (or maybe a slice of parmesan). The short-lived company was founded by former Lamborghini test driver and engineer Claudio Zampolli with funding from music producer and composer Giorgo Moroder, who is also known as the Father of Disco. Bertone’s Marcello Gandini was commissioned to design the car, and Zampolli decided to power it with a 6.0-liter V16 engine in order to one-up better established supercar firms like Ferrari.
Mounted transversally behind the passenger compartment, the naturally-aspirated 16-cylinder engine sent about 520 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. These numbers were huge for the late 1980s when Lamborghini’s Countach put 449 horses under your right foot and a BMW M3 was rated at 220 horsepower. Zampolli and Moroder worked together long enough to build a running and driving prototype but the relationship between the two men quickly soured. The car was consequently renamed Cizeta V16T, and Zampolli built nine additional examples before his company filed for bankruptcy in 1994.
The original prototype is the only example built with “Cizeta-Moroder” badging, and it’s still owned by Moroder. RM Sotheby’s explains that the prototype was unveiled in December 1988 at an upscale gathering held in Los Angeles and hosted by Jay Leno. It was also displayed at the 1989 editions of the Los Angeles and Geneva auto shows. Several key details differentiate it from the production versions: the air intakes on both sides are bigger, and parts like the turn signals, the door mirrors, and nearly everything inside are specific to chassis number 001.
Moroder reportedly had the car refurbished by California-based Bruce Canepa in 2018 after keeping it in storage for many years. It’s said to be in running and driving condition and its odometer displays 322 kilometers, which represents approximately 200 miles.
If you think this V16T belongs in your collection, you’re in luck: it’s scheduled to cross the auction block during an RM Sotheby’s sale taking place in Phoenix, Arizona, on January 27, 2022. We don’t have a pre-auction estimate yet, but nothing suggests that the winning bidder will score the deal of a lifetime. In 2021, RM Sotheby’s sold a 1993 model (chassis number 101) for $665,000. We’re guessing that the original prototype will sell for considerably more money considering its historical significance and the fact that it’s a documented one-owner car.
Several other classic cars shaped like a door stop will be looking for their next home in Phoenix in January 2022. RM’s catalog also includes a 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider, a 1995 Ferrari 512 M, a 1978 Maserati Bora 4.9, and a no-reserve 1981 DeLorean DMC-12.
2022 Ford GT Heritage Edition celebrates Alan Mann Racing
2022 will be the last model year for the Ford GT, the craftsmen at Multimatic turning out the last of the 1,350-unit production run. We already knew there’d be one more Heritage Edition coming, Ford using this year’s Monterey Car Week to reveal models that would honor the original 1964 prototypes. Now Ford Performance has teased a second Heritage Edition for next year, this one a nod to England’s Alan Mann Racing. The Surrey-based race shop prepped Fords for races like the Monte Carlo Rally and Tour de France Automobile before becoming a European factory team in 1964. AMR ordered five GT40 MkI racers with the small block 289-ci V8, intent on honing them to win Le Mans. Ford sent just two of the five before changing focus to the GT40 MKII powered by the 427-ci big block, believing the 289s couldn’t get the job done.
The Ford GT Alan Mann Heritage Edition is a limited-edition inspired by the lighter experimental ‘66 GT 40 race cars that Alan Mann Racing built that would help Ford GT to become America’s only Le Mans-winning supercar.#FordGT #LeMans pic.twitter.com/SenAEUvwJS
— Ford Performance (@FordPerformance) December 13, 2021
Mann had his way with the two cars anyway, reskinning them in aluminum, designing a new coil-spring suspension, an oil fill tube accessed through the clamshell rear end, and Phil Remington’s quick-change braking system. Called the AM 1 and AM 2, Mann entered both lightweight GT40s wearing his trademark Monaco Red, gold, and white livery in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966, leading the race for a brief spell before having to retire both cars. Ford then had Holman Moody convert the car to into a 427 MkII B model, but never homologated nor raced it, then had Holman Moody revert AM 1 to its Weber-carbed 289-ci spec. That original coupe has made a few appearances at Pebble Beach recently, owner Rex Meyers pulling it onto the lawn for judging and a sound check in 2019 — the first time it had been on display since 1968. Now Gooding & Company has put AM 1 up for auction this year with a pre-sale estimate of $7 to $9 million.
On a side note, Ford’s factory team won Le Mans twice with the 427-ci GT40s, retiring immediately after the win in 1967. John Wyer then created his own lightweight GT40 racers known as the Mirage cars, powered by the 289-cubic-incher, and won Le Mans in 1968 and 1969.
AM 1 wore the #16 in its roundel, and this is the car the new Ford GT Heritage Edition references by having “16” painted on the underside of the rear wing. Yes, it would be awesome if Ford went all the way with the AM 1 honor and rolled out a lightweight GT, but here’s to dreaming. Back on Earth, expect a lively paint job and a 3.5-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost V6 with 660 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque, akin to the previous GT Heritage Editions. Production will start sometime early next year, we await word on how many of the Alan Mann units are on the way.
Related video:
1 of 3 Bugatti EB112 super-sedans built is for sale
Bugatti has never strived to achieve volume, but some of its cars are rarer than others. One is the EB112, an obscure fastback-like sedan envisioned as a follow-up to the EB110, canned when the firm collapsed in 1995, and resurrected by a third-party company in the late 1990s. Historians agree that three examples of the EB112 were built, and the second one has been listed for sale by a dealer in Germany.
Presented as a concept at the 1993 edition of the Geneva auto show, the EB112 represented one of the ways that Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli hoped to breathe new life into the storied French carmaker. It took the form of a large, four-door super-sedan with an aluminum body and a naturally-aspirated, 6.0-liter V12 tuned to send about 460 horsepower to the four wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. It offered passengers an interior that was luxurious without being over-the-top. In short, the modern-day Royale had arrived.
Bugatti quoted a 0-62-mph time of 4.3 seconds, which was remarkable considering the era and the car’s weight, and a top speed of 186 mph. Orders started coming in, but Bugatti filed for bankruptcy in September 1995 and the project was canceled. It closed its factory in Campogalliano, Italy, leaving behind 128 examples of the EB110 and one EB112, but the story doesn’t end there: two additional EB112s were left partially assembled inside the so-called Blue Factory. Gildo Pallanca Pastor bought some of the company’s assets and asked the Monaco Racing Team to complete the unfinished cars, according to dealer Schaltkulisse. The car that it’s selling is the first one of those.
Schaltkulisse notes that chassis number 39002 was ordered on April 27, 1993, by Bugatti’s Swiss importer and delivered in February 2000. It has been registered in Geneva since 2003 and its odometer displays around 3,900 kilometers, which represents approximately 2,500 miles. It’s presented as a one-owner car that’s still powered by a front-mid-mounted 6.0-liter V12. Pricing is only available upon request, but don’t expect this fascinating part of Bugatti’s multi-faceted history to come cheap. We wouldn’t be surprised if it costs more than a new Chiron.
Related Video:
Original Lamborghini Countach designer wants no association with 2021 remake
The designer of the groundbreaking 1974 Lamborghini Countach, Marcello Gandini, has issued a remarkable statement to the press regarding the recently released Countach LPI 800-4. In it, he repeatedly affirms that he had nothing to do with the revived Countach that Lamborghini revealed at Monterey Car Week on the occasion of the model’s 50th anniversary.
Gandini alleges that Lamborghini may have misled the public into thinking he had something to do with the Sián reskin, and he wants to make it clear that he had nothing to do with it.
“The external public, seeing and reading what has been communicated by Automobili Lamborghini and consequently by the media during recent weeks, may be led into believing that Marcello Gandini was a part of, or was involved with, or the project may have had his blessing. It is therefore appropriate to clarify the facts and reiterate that he did not participate in, nor was he aware of the project in any way.”
Rarely has a designer of Gandini’s stature and repute so publicly refuted a company they’ve worked for. Though Gandini penned cars from the humble Renault 5 to the masterful E12 BMW 5 Series to the incredible Lancia Stratos, it is Lamborghini — where he was responsible for the legendary Miura, Espada, Marzal and Countach, among others — that Gandini is historically most closely associated with.
Some of the confusion Gandini references stems from a video published by Lamborghini earlier this year. In it, Gandini talks about his design philosophy (which, ironically, includes breaking new ground with every design) and current Lamborghini head of design Mitja Borkert presents Gandini with a scale model of the then-upcoming Countach LPI 800-4. The latter believes that his presence in the video equates to tacit approval of the new design.
“Neither earlier, nor during the interview was it stated that the car was scheduled for limited series production. With the elegance and kindness that have always distinguished Marcello Gandini, when Mitja Borkert presented the scale model during the interview, the former did smile and acknowledge as would be customary to do so.”
Gandini believed that the model was the end of it, but after Lamborghini pulled the wraps off of the LPI 800-4, he says he received “countless requests for clarification” from press and colleagues in the auto design field. He decided to issue the statement to make clear he had nothing to do with the remake. Furthermore, he wants the public to know that he’s against the idea altogether. And though he doesn’t criticize the design itself, he skewers the notion of a remake.
“Thus, Marcello Gandini would like to reaffirm that he had no role in this operation, and as the author and creator of the original design from 1971, would like to clarify that the makeover does not reflect his spirit and his vision. A spirit of innovation and breaking the mould which is in his opinion totally absent in this new design: ‘I have built my identity as a designer, especially when working on supercars for Lamborghini, on a unique concept: each new model I would work on would be an innovation, a breaker, something completely different from the previous one. Courage, the ability to create a break without sticking to the success of the previous car, the confidence in not wanting to give in to habit were the very essence of my work’, explains Marcello Gandini. ‘It is clear that markets and marketing itself has changed a lot since then, but as far as I am concerned, to repeat a model of the past, represents in my opinion the negation of the founding principles of my DNA.'”
For its part, Lamborghini has issued its own response to Gandini, which Top Gear published. The company explains that the Countach LPI 800-4 was the work of designers at their Centro Stile and R&D department.
“The Company has never attributed any role to Marcello Gandini in the realisation of the Countach LPI 800-4. Instead, Automobili Lamborghini have invited Mr Gandini to take part in an interview that took place in June 2021. This was a conversation with the designer and Head of Centro Stile Lamborghini about the comparison between the old model and the new one.”
It’s understandable that Gandini wants to protect his legacy and name, but it also seems obvious that Lamborghini never meant to mislead the public about his involvement. However, it must be said that all 112 units have already been sold out, so someone out there does appreciate them.
All in all, it’s a regrettable misunderstanding that has marred what should otherwise be a golden anniversary celebration of one of the most famous and beloved cars of all time. Perhaps we should just ignore it and revel in the Countach LP500 concept rebirth instead.
Related video:
The Maserati Bora turns 50. It was ‘the thinking man’s exotic’
The Maserati Bora made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1971, meaning the V8-powered supercar from Modena has just turned 50 years old. It arrived at a time when the Italian sports car manufacturers were undergoing a paradigm shift to the mid-engined layout that defines the modern supercar.
The Bora (not to be confused with the VW sedan we knew as the fourth-generation Jetta) was named after a winter wind that blows from the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. Though it holds the distinction of being the first Maserati to employ the mid-engine configuration, it was a bit of a latecomer, following on the heels of Lamborghini’s 1966 Miura, De Tomaso’s 1964 Vallelunga and Ferrari’s 1967 Dino 206 GT.
However, it was a dramatic departure from the curvaceous designs of the 1960s. Skinned in an avant-garde wedge penned by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign, the Bora was like a concept car come to life. Its most distinguishing characteristic, the unpainted A-pillars and roof, were polished stainless steel, a preview of Giugiaro’s DeLorean that would not arrive for another decade. Any resemblance to De Tomaso’s Mangusta was probably a coincidence (or the fact that it too was a Giugiaro design).
The Bora’s massive rear glass area showed off its aluminum twin-cam V8, nestled in a racecar-like steel-tube subframe. Motors came as either a high-revving 4.7-liter unit good for 310 horsepower and 325 pound-feet, or a torquier 4.9-liter producing 320 hp and 355 lb-ft. Delivered through a smooth-shifting ZF five-speed, it carried the car from 0-60 in a reported 6.6 seconds, and onward to a top speed of 174 mph.
The Bora modernized Maserati, offering a four-wheel independent suspension for the first time behind the Trident badge. The Bora was considered more liveable than a Countach, thanks to features like double-paned glass between the cabin and engine compartment, a carpeted engine cover, and adjustable pedal box.
Though overshadowed by its contemporaries from Maranello and Sant’Agata Bolognese, the Bora was considered the thinking man’s exotic. As evidence of its decidedly un-basic following it was even cited in 1984’s The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, describing the evil Dr. Emilio Lizardo’s escape from imprisonment: “Last night he kills a guard, breaks out of Trenton Home for the Criminally Insane. Ten minutes later, he cops a Maserati Bora. Totaled it a block away.”
It may not have the instant recognizability as some of the other mid-engine Italians, but it’s more affordable (under $150,000) and slightly easier to cope with on a daily basis. It’s still a head turner today, and with only 564 built — 289 with the 4.7 and 275 with the 4.9 — it’s a virtual certainty that it’ll be the only one at any given exotic car meet. Happy birthday, Bora.
One-off 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i supercar will cross the auction block
If you live in a zip code where a Bugatti Chiron is a common sight, and all of your neighbors already have a Pininfarina Battista on order, auction house RM Sotheby’s has just what it takes for you to stand out. It’s selling a 1993 Isdera Commendatore 112i, which is a one-off supercar that elevates esoteric design to an art form.
While its name sounds Italian, and it was indeed chosen as a tribute to Enzo Ferrari, the Commendatore 112i was the brainchild of German engineer Eberhard Schulz. RM Sotheby’s explained he landed a job in Porsche’s design department by driving a home-made sports car he named Erator GTE to the company’s headquarters and showing it off to anyone willing to give him a few minutes of their time. He left Porsche and worked for a small firm named B&B before forming Isdera, which is short for Ingenieurbüro fur Styling, DEsign und RAcing.
Schulz’s dream was always to make a modern version of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL, and Isdera’s first car explored what the coupe might look like in the 1980s. Its second model, the Commendatore 112i, was developed to be more extreme than its predecessor in every single way, ranging from design to performance. Instead of a V8 engine, Isdera borrowed the 6.0-liter V12 that Mercedes-Benz put in the S-Class (W140) and the SL (R129) — and that later ended up in the Pagazi Zonda — and stuffed it right behind the passenger compartment.
Isdera wanted a stick-shift, and Mercedes-Benz didn’t have a suitable transmission in its parts bin, so the young carmaker sourced a five-speed manual transmission from famed Porsche tuner RUF and added a sixth gear to it. When all was said and done, the 400-horsepower 12-cylinder sent the 112i to a top speed of 211 mph.
BBS and Bilstein helped Isdera develop an active suspension system that lowered the ride height by three inches at high speeds to reduce drag. Schulz went as far as making his own windshield wipers for the Commendatore rather than using off-the-shelf components, and he fitted a periscope instead of side mirrors to improve its drag coefficient. RM Sotheby’s points out the young carmaker wanted to enter its newest creation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Many start-ups talk endlessly; this one created a fully functional and surprisingly impressive car.
Had everything panned out, we may be writing about Isdera’s plans for the 2020s, or looking at how its newest model fares against the competition. However, a big chunk of the company’s funding came from Japan, and it vanished when the Japanese economy slowed down in 1993. There would be no Le Mans entry, no low-volume supercar, and no magazine covers. Isdera went silent, but the 112i’s story doesn’t end there; far from it.
Swiss investors courageously attempted to reboot the project by putting the Commendatore in “Need for Speed II” released in 1997 for the original PlayStation and PC. Later, they made a handful of visual changes to the car, like replacing the submarine-like periscope, and displayed it at the 1999 edition of the Frankfurt Motor Show, where it was presented as the Silver Arrow. It was sold, and it went through the hands of several owners before Isdera purchased it and returned it to its 1993 specifications. It’s now selling the Commendatore for the second time.
RM Sotheby’s notes that the odometer reads about 10,500 kilometers, which represents around 6,600 miles, and that the car is currently registered in Germany, meaning it’s theoretically street-legal anywhere in the European Union. It was previously registered in Switzerland, so can be re-registered there, too, but enthusiasts who want to drive it on American soil will need to either apply for a show and display permit or wait until it turns 25.
What’s a one-off supercar in like-new condition being sold by the people who built it worth? RM hasn’t provided a pre-auction estimate, so the bidders in the room (physically or virtually) when the Commendatore crosses the auction block in Paris in 2021 will ultimately decide its value. There’s no reserve, so someone is taking it home.
Related Video:
Bugatti Type 35 reborn as a sumptuous retro-styled roadster
German engineering and design firm Uedelhoven Studios has reimagined the Bugatti Type 35 as a modern roadster. It’s visibly inspired by the original model, but it’s lower, sleeker, and made largely with carbon fiber.
Uedelhoven Studios isn’t a household name, even in enthusiast circles, but it has helped create numerous concept cars including the 2020 Hyundai Prophecy, the 2019 Hyundai 45, and the 2019 Audi AI:Me. It explained that its designers began brainstorming ways to bring the Type 35 into the 21st century in 2015, though it’s unclear whether Bugatti was involved in the project. We didn’t see it when we went behind the scenes in its design studio to discover some of the unbuilt models it developed in the 2000s and the 2010s, including a V8-powered coupe.
Called Type 35 D, a designation never used by Bugatti, the roadster is instantly recognizable as a follow-up to the successful race car thanks in part to a horseshoe-shaped grille surrounded by a thick chrome frame, a tapered body and light blue paint. The suspension system’s components and the wheels are fully exposed, like on the original model, but Uedelhoven added fatter tires and a sizeable air diffuser that’s wider than the body.
Peeking inside reveals wood trim on the steering wheel and the gear selector, leather upholstery, and a copious amount of carbon fiber. The center console is loosely inspired by the one fitted to Bugatti’s current-day models, like the Chiron, with round instruments (including a digital gear indicator). It looks like there’s a screen on the dashboard, too, which strongly suggests the cabin isn’t as closely linked to Bugatti’s heritage as the body.
What’s under the hood hasn’t been revealed. We think the front end looks a little too narrow to house Bugatti’s thunderous 8.0-liter W16 engine and its four turbos. Released in 1924, the original Type 35 was powered by a 2.0-liter straight-eight engine tuned to develop about 90 horsepower, a magnificent amount at the time.
We don’t know what’s next for the roadster; we’ve reached out to Uedelhoven and Bugatti to find out more, and we’ll update this story if we learn more. We’d love to see the Type 35 D race like the original, which famously won more than 1,000 races (including the grueling Targa Florio held in Sicily) between 1925 and 1931.
Ford GT Road Test | Driving is believing
I finally got to drive the latest Ford GT. And everywhere I went, people were just as excited as me to see one – on the road, not on auction stages where the Faberge-rare Ford has fetched as much as $1.5 million.
Driving Ford’s 660-horsepower, 216-mph missile in New York was like being a street-corner dealer, handing out potent, “Code Orange” capsules of automotive bliss to car fans. People pulled cars over or formed eager knots every time I stopped. Two questions were on every quivering lip: “Where’d you get one?” and “How’d you get one?” And that was before the inevitable queries of what the car cost.
“I can’t believe it’s a Ford GT!” said one young man, just after I’d rocked the Ford on cliff-hung roads overlooking the Hudson River near West Point. These crazy reactions and the hypercar-style performance also softened my heart toward the GT.
Many people, including me, had only ever seen a third-generation GT during its surprise, daylight robbery of the Detroit Auto Show in 2015. Auto scribes scoured the Internet thesaurus for superlatives. But like the only sober person in a room full of drunks, I was strangely unmoved. A $450,000 Ford? With an Ecoboost-branded V6, and its whiff of Eau de Dearborn?
Also, my heart still belonged to the second-generation GT of 2004-2006, pictured above. The retro-style, V8-powered GT nailed the underdog charm and Motown menace of the LeMans-winning racers. That included the Ford’s one-two-three podium sweep in 1966, the feel-good story given (finally) its mainstream due in last year’s Ford v. Ferrari. The crowd-pleasing film paid sepia-toned homage to car builder Carroll Shelby and British racer Ken Miles, breezing past the fact those original GT chassis were built in Britain. But following Miles’ death in August 1966, it was Shelby’s all-new Mk IV car that A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney piloted to 210 mph on the Mulsanne Straight to win LeMans in 1967. That Mk IV, powered by a Ford 427, remains the only all-American entry – design, build, engines, drivers – to win the 24 Hours. It also birthed the first street-going version: The oddball Mk III, with 306 horsepower from a Holley-carbed, 289-cubic-inch V8. With a 2,200-pound curb weight, the Mk III could still rip to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds.
Only seven GT Mk III’s were built, ostensibly “priced” around $18,500 (or $138,000 in 2020 money). But there seemed a direct line between all previous GTs and the 2004-2006 model, with 540 horsepower and 205-mph peak from a supercharged V8. Ford asked me to drive that one from Detroit to New York in 2005. And its proud American-ness came in handy when I got pulled over in Pennsylvania for making mincemeat of the local speed limit. The Ford-driving cop totally let me slide, too busy enthusing over the car. It helped that this GT was priced from $143,000 – rich for a Ford, yet comfortably in Porsche 911 Turbo territory – and that the company built a reasonable 4,308 units.
Today’s GT seemed to break that historic link, psychologically and financially. To Ford’s credit, as with the latest Mustang, it didn’t simply rehash past glory with another retro take. Admittedly, the interstellar, carbon-fiber catamaran on display in Detroit looked amazing, from its scissor doors to its racing stripes. But when Ford started talking a $450,000 price, a 1,350-unit production run, and vetting buyers like fathers grilling a daughter’s prospective date, they kinda lost me. I thought Ford wanted to beat Ferrari, not join them.
It all seemed a hermetically sealed marketing stunt. Was Ford out to satisfy real customers, or to bask in its own nostalgic reflection? That sense grew when Ford sent the GT back to LeMans for a dominating class win in 2016, its skids so greased by race rulemakers as to seem nearly pre-ordained. Ford decreed that owners would be prohibited from reselling their cars for two years. But it was Ford that poured gasoline on the secondary market and lit the match in the first place, via the air of unobtainium. Suddenly they were shocked (shocked!) that buyers might consider selling their appreciating cars to the highest bidder? Ford even sued Mecum Auctions and a few rogue owners to halt transactions, even as it trumpeted its own, track-only GT Mk II edition – a mere $1.2 million, limited to 45 copies. Hurry, billionaires, before they’re gone! Apparently, seven-figure GT sales are fine, as long as the money is going into Ford’s pocket.
It all seemed reminiscent of Lexus and its $375,000 LFA, another unreasonably exclusive, overpriced supercar that was more like a theoretical particle: Flashing into view like a Higgs-Boson, then disappearing back into the shadowy, quantum realm of collectors’ garages, never to be seen again.
And yet. The 2020 Ford GT I drove was the kind of wicked, transgressive fun that few modern supercars deliver. This press car, with nearly 16,000 miles on the odo, felt like a racecar that got lost en route to LeMans. The twin-turbo V6, now with 660 horsepower (up from 647), throbs with raw promise at idle. After a beat of turbo lag, it catapults the GT with thrilling focus, making occupants feel like a baseball from Clayton Kershaw’s hand. It fills the cabin, with its 43.7-inch-low roofline, with a thrash-metal shriek that drowns out conversation and human thought. The engine may as well be in your lap. The seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission isn’t the most sophisticated, but it still snaps through gears, as LEDs in the steering-wheel rim signal the 7,000-rpm redline, at which point the GT seems bent on sampling that 216-mph apogee. The rear-drive design helps handicap this car to a relatively modest 3.0-second sprint to 60 mph, despite sticky Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. But a 10.8-second catapult through the quarter-mile, at 134 mph, tells the truer story.
Acceleration is a given among hypercars – yes, hypercars, as the GT reminds me far more of early Koenigseggs than run-of-the-mill Ferraris and Lamborghinis. What separates the GT is steering and handling. In an era of electronically mediated performance, the Ford’s is beautifully pure and unfiltered: Quicksilver steering guides the GT with millimeter-accurate precision, while transmitting every pavement ripple and nick through its Alcantara-wrapped wheel. Yet the car never feels darty or hair-trigger. Tire adhesion is ridiculous. The faster you go, the more the Ford bolts itself to the road, including its burly aero wing that pops up above 70 mph, and also acts as an air brake, in cahoots with carbon-ceramic stoppers. That rear wing, on hydraulic stanchions thick enough for service-bay duty, can be fixed in up or down positions. The adaptive suspension, with its trick Multimatic spool-valve shocks, is taut, yet it didn’t pound car or occupants to jelly through the gantlet of Brooklyn and Manhattan. It’s Multimatic that actually builds the GT in Markham, Ontario, including roughly one copy per month of a new Liquid Carbon edition. Its exposed carbon-fiber body adds $250,000 to the price.
After an epic driving day, I was simultaneously spent and giddy from sensory overload. Then, one last sensation: A firecracker boom as I wound through Harriman State Park, so loud that I thought the engine had blown. Ears ringing, I hopped out and found the glass panel, separating the engine bulkhead from the cabin, cracked in multiple places. I restarted the car, and though it limped the remaining 48 miles home to Brooklyn, it had almost no boost, and emitted a moan like a tubercular cow. I suspected the GT was running on one turbo or less, and the hunch seemed right: Ford later said a boot connecting a throttle body to a turbo had come loose. Violently, in terms of that busted window, but no lasting harm done.
The accessible, “everyday” supercar is the new industry target, from the Acura NSX and Porsche 911 Turbo to the various Ferraris and McLarens. That is not this car. Sensation aside, the Ford GT doesn’t care about your tender feelings. A shower of pebbles and road schmutz, kicked up by near-slick performance tires, churned through wheel wells, sounding like 100 rainsticks taped inside the cabin. The cabin, with its aggressive teardrop shape, is more like a space capsule. Strapping on a helmet would have forced me to scrunch down in the Sparco racing seat to fit my noggin inside. Press a switch to lift the bumper to clear steep driveways, and instead of the usual elevator hum, the Ford snaps crudely upward like the head of a Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robot. It does the same when dropped into aero-boosting Track mode, so low that a squirrel couldn’t limbo underneath. It looks badass, and unlike many “Track” modes, Ford’s really is for track only.
The interior is mostly crap for a $500,000 car. It proudly exposes the carbon-fiber monocoque, but it also has Garmin-like displays, an afterthought infotainment system and some switches that might pass muster in a Mustang. Seats are carbon-fiber buckets with no fore-and-aft or height adjustment, only a fabric strap that yanks the foot pedal box into proper range. And there’s essentially zero cargo space, only a bin aft of the engine that might fit a backpack, if it wasn’t already half-filled with a tire-inflator kit. The hardcore GT makes a Lamborghini Huracan seem like the family Audi in terms of luxury, comfort and versatility.
For all that, I now absolutely understand why a filthy-rich guy would park a GT next to his vintage racers, the Riva yacht and fourth wife. The GT drives like a Hollywood dream, one in which Ken Miles looks like Christian Bale, and Matt Damon was born in a Stetson. It’s a track toy no other boy has, an Ariel Atom times 10, but with a better backstory and a potential investment upside. I just hope said guy actually drives his GT, at least on fourth-wife anniversaries.
Is Ford’s “pinnacle of performance” really worth $500,000-and-up? The market says yes. Should Ford feel even a little bit ashamed of itself? I’ll let you answer that one.
Related Video: