Some cars are old, and some cars are classic — but not all old cars are classics. This 1925 Bugatti Type 35B Grand Prix Two-Seater (£430,500; roughly $700,000) is a rare example of an automobile that's both. Owned for most of its life by Bugatti enthusiast Jack Perkins, this right-wheeled racer sports a straight-eight, turbocharged engine that's started the Indy 500, original components sourced from Bugatti, and a heritage of setting records at Bugatti Owners' Club hill climbs year after year. Of course, it's already been sold at auction, but if you've got the cash pay for it, you might also have ways of tracking down the buyer.
Own a piece of automotive, racing, and movie history with a winning bid on this 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider ($TBA). Only the eighth of 35 750 Monza spiders to be built, this unique specimen — serial number 0492M — proved its on-track worth while driven in various races, before being cast in On the Beach, a post-apocalyptic flick that saw Fred Astaire driving it. Tech specs include a 260 hp DOHC four-cylinder engine, a five-speed manual transmission, an independent front suspension, de Dion rear axle, and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes — as if any of that matters.
Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the legendary DB4GT Zagato, Aston Martin has once again teamed with the Italian design house, with stunning results. The Aston Martin V12 Zagato ($TBA) offers aggressive yet graceful curves courtesy of a handcrafted bonded aluminum body, and features a front mid-mounted 6.0L V12 engine pumping out 510 hp, rear wheel drive, a steel roll cage, a six-speed gearbox with auto-shift and select shift manual modes, menacing LED taillights, and the iconic Zagato double bubble roof.
Designed by Touring Superleggera, the Gumpert Tornante ($TBA) is an elegant, 700-HP beast that's being unveiled in Geneva this week. The V8-powered 2-seater is built on a light chrome-molybdenum steel space frame with carbon fiber monocoque chassis, and sports gull-wing doors and a TT40e gearbox with paddle shift control, among other awesomeness.
Behold the awesome old school goodness of these vintage-printed, buttery-soft Homage T-Shirts. They turn back the clock with shout outs to eclectic moments and personalities in sports, music, politics and popular culture. From Bruce Lee to Larry Bird, the tees tell stories of triumph, individualism and hustle. Pay Homage.
Attention professional athletes: your new ride has arrived. The Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 ($TBA) is the latest from Sant'Agata Bolognese, and packs a new 6.5L V12 engine — good for 691 hp, a 0-60 time of 2.8 seconds, and an estimated top speed of 217 MPH — Launch Control for smooth take-offs, a seven-speed ISR Graziano transmission, a Formula 1-inspired suspension, a new all-wheel-drive system, oversized ceramic brakes, and a handy hydraulic lift to keep the beauty's body panels from being busted on on steep driveways or irritating speed bumps.
It's a shame how often our modern society overuses the word "extreme," but it works perfectly for describing the Koenigsegg Agera R ($TBA). Packing a 5.0L, biofuel-drinking twin-turbo V8, the Agera produces an extreme amount of horsepower — 1,115 hp, to be exact. Other ultra-severe features include a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission, a carbon fiber monocoque so stiff that the roof is completely removable, Vortex Generating Rim (VGR) wheels sporting spokes that act as turbines to maximize downforce, and specially-made Michelins for keeping things under control at extreme speeds.
It's not often a new car from a small(ish) manufacturer can run with the Ferraris, Porsches, and Lamborghinis of the world, but that's certainly the case with the McLaren MP4-12C ($230,000). This spiritual successor to the legendary F1 uses a 592-horsepower 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 and a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox to go from 0-60 in as little as 3.2 seconds, from 0-125 in 8.9 seconds, a Proactive chassis control system that allows for instant adjustment of the car's settings to match the situation, brake-steer technology borrowed from Formula 1, and other goodies that make it as beastly on the track as it is attention-grabbing off of it.
Some cars simply qualify for the label "exotic," but the new Pagani Huayra ($TBA) exudes it. Boasting an instantly identifiable exterior, the Huayra features huge gull-wing doors, bi-xenon headlights, a carbon-titanium monocoque, a Mercedes-AMG 12-cylinder biturbo engine good for over 700 hp, a seven-speed sequential gearbox and a dual-disc clutch, and a central touch screen high-definition multimedia system. Instead of going further, we'll just leave you with this "exotic" moment from the press release: "With its power, the god of the wind Huayra Tata may raise the waters of Lake Titicaca and turn them into rain that pours on the fertile Pachamama." Exactly.
Another auto show, another awesome Ferrari that hardly anyone will ever get to drive. The 2011 Ferrari SA Aperta ($TBA) is a super-sexy drop-top version of the company's 599 GTB Fiorano, named for legendary designers Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, and sporting a front-engine V12, virtually no ground clearance, integrated roll-bars, a very light soft top meant for emergency use only, and stiffness and weight similar to that of the hard-top version thanks to some fancy engineering. Unfortunately, only 80 are being made, and all 80 have already been sold.
The Lotus Evora gave us a hint of where the company's design language was headed, but we still weren't quite prepared for the sleek, angular lines of the Lotus Elite ($180,000). Powered by a front/mid-engine 5-Liter V8 sourced from the Lexus IS F and hooked to an automatic tranny with optional use of hybrid technology with KERS, the Elite boasts 611hp, a 0-100 km/h time of roughly 3.6 seconds, and a top speed of 195 mph, this retractable hardtop 2+2 is primed to vault Lotus into the supercar market in a big — and stylish — manner.
Can't afford your own F1 team? Perhaps you can afford the Lotus Exos Type 125 ($1 million). Powered by a 650 HP Cosworth V8 and weighing in at just 1,433 lbs., the buyers of this racing car will be enrolled in the "Exos Club," which offers extensive drivers training, mental and physical preparation, and then a five-race series across Europe in 2011 for all 25 owners. Some say it's a way to get around the F1 testing ban, but we say it sounds like a helluva way to blow those extra lottery winnings.
Want to own the fastest production car ever built? Then prepare to pony up the mountains of cash it will take to get you the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport ($TBA). With its 16-cylinder, turbocharged and intercooled engine tuned to produce 1,200 hp — nearly 200 more than the typical Veyron 16.4, if there is such a thing — this world-beater offers lateral acceleration of up to 1.4G, carbon-fiber composite body panels, central rear exhaust system, and a top speed of 257.9 mph, which is less than the 267.8 it averaged when taking the production car land speed record, but is certainly enough to outrun the local police should you get in trouble for exercising your need for speed.