Motorsport & Racing

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The 41’ Cigarette Nighthawk AMG Edition

If you ask Mercedes, their AMG GT Black Series is still the undisputed ‘King of the Ring’, with a time of 6 minutes 43 seconds to complete the 12.8-mile track of the Nordschleife, better known as ‘the Green Hell’, or the Nurburgring in Germany, despite what Porsche claims with their 911 GT2 RS fitted with Manthey Racing components that completed the same track in 6:38 seconds, a full 5 seconds faster.

Porsche used a ‘tuned’ car for this record while the Mercedes is identical to the one you can buy straight from the factory, and I know, it’s all about semantics here, and yes, you can order the Manthey Racing components through Porsche’s Tequipment accessory lineup on the Porsche 911 GT2 RS … but it still doesn’t feel the same now does it, the AMG GT Black Series is the fastest front-engined car in the world, which is an amazing feat nonetheless.

But let’s take a look at this 41-foot Cigarette Nighthawk AMG Black Series, designed in close collaboration between the Cigarette Racing Team, the Mercedes-AMG design team, and Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Mercedes-Benz AG, to create the same feeling of power and luxury of the road car on the water.

The AMG GT Black series road car is fitted with a handbuilt V8 engine with a power output of 720 hp, which is an impressive number … but this new Cigarette puts her to shame, courtesy of no less than five racing-grade outboard engines, the famous 4.6-liter V8 Mercury Racing 450R units, which as the name suggest, come with an industry-leading 450 peak propshaft horsepower … each!

That’s a total of 2,250 hp, capable of propelling this large center console boat that can hold up to ten passengers in full luxury up to speeds of 90 Mph, this truly is a remarkable special edition boat, the 13th one that has been jointly developed in a longstanding partnership between AMG and Cigarette, the 41′ Nighthawk AMG Black Series is the latest in an impressive line of highly exclusive special edition performance vessels.

Just like the AMG GT Black Series, this Nighthawk AMG Black Series is finished in the bright Magmabeam orange and black exterior, a little detail, those AMG logos on the side of this Cigarette are painted, these aren’t decals. On the inside, a combination of grey and black is used, with orange details to unite both inside and outside.

While the AMG GT Black Series will arrive in US dealerships during the Summer of 2021 at a price of $325,000, the Nighthawk AMG Black Series might be just a little bit more expensive …

June 26, 2021 / Comments Off

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Two unique Bugatti EB110s

Back in the early 90s, the Bugatti EB110 was the supercar to get, debuted specifically on September 15th, 1991 which happens to be company founder Ettore Bugatti’s 110th birthday, but it would take until the 1992 Geneva Motor Show to get the complete view of what this car was all about: a quad-turbocharged 3.5-liter V12 with 603 hp (449-kilowatt) called the EB110 Super Sport (or, SS) was unveiled.

Compared to the Bugatti EB110 GT the Super Sport evolution was 150 kg lighter and packed 60 more horsepower which resulted in a top speed of 216 mph in 1992, one of the most famous cars ever was a yellow Bugatti EB110 SS purchased by Formula One legend Michael Schumacher in 1992, and while only 39 EB110 SS were built (of a rumored 150 total EB110), it isn’t the rarest version in the world of this Nineties supercar.

That honor goes to a blue EB110S LM and a silver EB110S SC GTS-1 … two bespoke race cars built by Bugatti and based on the EB110 SS, only one of each was ever made, making each one unique on her own because they were built with a different purpose in mind. The blue car was specifically built for Le Mans, hence the EB110 LM naming, and she did enter the 1994 edition of the 24h of Le Mans, with a rumored power output of more than 700 Ps.

The EB110S LM was a strong competitor during the 1994 24h of Le Mans, which happened to mark the 55th anniversary of the last time Bugatti took the win at this famous endurance race, it wasn’t an effortless race, a total of five turbos had to be replaced, and they even had to cope with a fuel leak, but towards the end of the 24 hours it looked like this traditional Bugatti Blue race car would reach a top-five spot … until 4 minutes before the chequered flag a blown tire decided otherwise and the EB110S LM had to retire.

Still, the car drew the attention of Gildo Pallanca-Pastor who ordered three race cars from Bugatti for his Monaco Racing Team, this became the Bugatti EB110 Sport Competizione, or EB110S SC GTS-1 as it was officially called, the race car was built over a period of six months in 1995, initial plans were to build three units, but due to financial difficulties and supplier issues only one of these lightweight, reconceptualized, and stupendously fast EB110 race cars was built for entry into IMSA racing and the BPR Global GT Series on special order by Gildo Pallanca-Pastor.

From mid-1995 Gildo Pallanca-Pastor entered official races with his bespoke EB110 SC, and the car performed well, fifth-place at Watkins Glen and sixth-in-class at Sears Point before a promising Daytona 24 Hours race turned into a nightmare due to transmission issues, then an issue with spare parts started to creep up, the supercar market started falling apart in 1995, and demand for new Bugatti EB110 GT or SS swindled, eventually to such a degree, Artioli could no longer sustain the losses and Bugatti was declared bankrupt in September 1995, at that time this silver EB110 SC was located at the factory for service, and it got confiscated as an asset by the curators handling the bankruptcy.

Fortunately, Gildo Pallanca-Pastor managed to get his car back and took it to Daytona in January 1996, but his intention was Le Mans, so prepared by entering a race in Dijon, France, on June 8 and 9 where he managed an impressive fourth place during training while for his first race in the EB110 SC, Pallanca-Pastor reached third place overall. But his luck ran out in the second race, a crash meant the Bugatti EB110 SC had to retire the race, they didn’t have enough spare parts to repair the car, even to the point he couldn’t qualify for the 1995 24h of Le Mans a week later, supply of Bugatti parts simply dried up completely at that point.

The last official, factory-built EB110 race car wouldn’t compete again for the next 25 years, but the car was maintained all the time, and when Gildo Pallanca-Pastor sold her a few years after her retirement to a Bugatti enthusiast, the latter kept the car in good condition, but away from the race track … only to return to Dyon in 2021 for a photo shoot of this unique Sport Competizione version of the Bugatti EB110.

Recently these two legendary Bugatti race cars were side by side for the first time in many years, both were taken to H.R.Owen Bugatti for their annual maintenance, the EB110S LM still in her 1994 Le Mans 24 Hours livery sits alongside the silver EB110S SC GTS-1 that competed in the North American WSC GT races … these are the only factory official Bugatti EB110 race cars that competed in 1994, 1995 and 1996, truly a piece of automotive history, both of which are priceless collection items today.

June 15, 2021 / Comments Off

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2022 Special Edition Corvette Stingray

Chevrolet revealed a limited edition model for the 2022 model year, the Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition, only 1,000 units will be available on LHD markets with styling to mimic the championship dominating No. 3 and No. 4 Corvette C8.R race cars that took the IMSA’s sports car championship series in the 2020 season, taking the Manufacturers, Drivers, and Team titles!

During the unveiling at the Belle Isle Park Raceway, Corvette Racing’s team Jordan Taylor and Antonio Garcia arrived in the coupe and convertible No. 3 Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Editions on the track. Teammate Nick Tandy led on track in a Corvette Stingray convertible, the official pace car of the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix while Corvette Racing’s driver Tommy Milner was behind the inspiration for the 2022 special edition, the actual No. 4 Corvette C8.R race car.

The limited-edition Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition is available in two colors, either Accelerate Yellow inspired by the No.3 race car, or Hypersonic Grey for the No.4 edition, both come with Corvette Racing team graphics package, either grey or yellow depending on the body color. The Corvette Stingray IMSA GTLM Championship Edition is based on the 3LT trim with the Z51 Performance package, depending on the market the car is destined for, these come with the High-wing spoiler in carbon fiber, yellow brake calipers, Black Trident design wheels complete with “Jake” logo on the center caps, and black lug nuts, Carbon Flash finished exterior mirrors, black side sills and splash guards.

For the inside the standard seats for the IMSA GTLM Championship Edition are the GT2 seats, the Competition Sport seats are also possible, but the upholstery is always a combination of Strike Yellow and Sky Cool Gray to correspond with the exterior yellow and grey theme, yellow seat belts are standard as is a special, individually numbered C8.R plaque between the seats.

But it’s not only the special C8.R edition that’s new for the 2022 model year, on the regular Corvette you are now able to specify three new exterior shades, Hypersonic Gray, Caffeine, and an optional Amplify Orange Tintcoat that comes at a premium, if you’re not a fan of the High-wing spoiler at the rear, you can now opt for a new, low-profile rear wing too, even the Z51 front splitter can now be ticked on the options list without adding the entire Z51 performance package.

The Chevrolet Corvette is available as a coupe with a removable roof panel and as a convertible with a retractable hardtop, in either 1LT, 2LT, or 3LT trim level on both variants, the Z51 Performance Package can be added to all trim levels, the MY2022 Corvette Stingray is available from local dealerships from July 1st on, starting at $62,195, including destination freight charge, for coupe models and $69,695, including DFC, for the convertible, production of the MY2020 at the Bowling Green Assembly plant is scheduled for late Q3 2021.

June 10, 2021 / Comments Off

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Up close with the Huayra R

Horacio Pagani and his team are hard at work to put together the first customer car for their limited series Huayra R, the track-only version for the stunning Pagani Huayra, but for now, they only put together a 1 on 1 scale mockup vehicle so they can evaluate the modifications done from the 3D computer designed model, over at least two 1/5 scale models, into real-life proportions … no interior yet, and no engine fitted either, but this satin silver metallic Huayra R with the famous orange stripe just looks so impressive, even standing still inside a studio.

There will be 30 units of this stunning Pagani Huayra R available for clients, but these can only be used on a closed track, heavily inspired by one of Horatio’s favorite classic race cars, the Porsche 917, the design for the Huayra R has been radically modified from the regular street-legal version, in the end only very few parts are the same … rumor has it only the exterior rearview mirrors and some screws on the chassis are the same as those found on the streetcar, that’s impressive for a limited production run of only 30 units.

The new Pagani Huayra R will come with a new V12 engine too, codename ‘R’, this engine will be naturally aspirated instead of the turbocharged V12 found in the streetcar, but this beast will come with 850 hp and 750 Nm of torque, inside a car that comes with a dry weight of only 1,050 kg … imagine the acceleration this Huayra R will be capable of.

Because the Pagani Huayra R does not have to comply with legislation for road use, Horatio could go all-out when designing this car, but he did still restrict himself to FIA regulations for GT cars, might a career in racing be on the horizon for these cars? The Huayra R does come with its own, bespoke carbon-fiber monocoque, instead of adding a roll cage to the existing Huayra monocoque, Pagani just created a new one with an integrated roll-over cage.

Take a look at the video Shmee150 was allowed to make featuring this satin silver metallic 1/1 mockup for the Huayra R:

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May 24, 2021 / Comments Off

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McLaren’s MSO created a 720S in the Gulf Oil livery

We’ve already published an article on McLaren Automotive’s MSO department, the McLaren Special Operations that offers bespoke builds to fortunate customers, but now we can admire something truly special from the artisans at MSO, a hand-painted livery on a McLaren 720S that took 20 days from start to finish … the result is a celebration between two iconic brands and the personalization possibilities from MSO: a bespoke 720S in the iconic Gulf Oil International racing colors.

McLaren and Gulf Oil go back a long time, their first partnership dates between 1968 and 1973 when we saw the Gulf livery on McLaren cars in both the F1 and the Can-Am races, a return of the two icons came in the Nineties when we saw the legendary McLaren F1 GTR race cars in the traditional light blue and orange color combination on the track, driving to victory at the 1996 BPR Global Endurance Series and in the GT1 Class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1997.

In 2020 a new partnership was reached when McLaren went on to using Gulf oils exclusively for their new cars as their lubricant supplier, to celebrate this, McLaren MSO offers the opportunity to a very limited number of customers to have their supercar hand-painted in the famous Gulf Oil livery, the car presented here, a 720S model is a showcase of a close collaboration between McLaren and Gulf Oil to make sure the paint (both metallic and solid) is a perfect match to the trademark Gulf shades of light blue and bright orange.

After many tests in the spray booth, AkzoNobel, a highly regarded name when it comes to top-of-the-line automotive paints, was able to put together the perfect mixture to mimic the shades required … it still takes a highly skilled painter a total of 20 days to complete this elaborate livery on a McLaren 720S.

The Gulf Oil blue and orange not only adorn the body of the McLaren 720S, but the orange is also used on the brake calipers, that same shade is taken into the interior where we find matching orange seat belts while the rest of the interior gets both light blue and orange stitching, a stunning looking Gulf logo is embroidered on both headrests, while another Gulf logo gets painted on the side sills, so it’s clearly visible when you open the doors on this bespoke MSO build.

Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive stated: “This project is a showcase of MSO’s capabilities and echoes the recent full restoration of the McLaren F1 GTR 25R, a car raced in the 1990s. The 720S in such an evocative livery and interior finish, created in close association with Gulf, which perfectly shows the potential for our customers to work with MSO’s skilled team to personalize their McLaren.”

More photos on this amazing looking McLaren MSO 720S Gulf Oil livery:

May 18, 2021 / Comments Off

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Hear The Glorious Noise of Ferrari Race Cars from The 2021 Corse Clienti at Monza

One of our favorite YouTubers, 19Bozzy92, has come out with yet another amazing compilation of race cars screaming around Monza. In this specific video, it was during the 2021 Ferrari Corse Clienti, which was held over two days at the end of March.

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The event hosted all the levels of Corse Clienti, of which there are three: GT clients, XX Program clients, and the rarest, the F1 clients. All of the cars in this video are privately owned, but most of them stay with Ferrari for care, storage, and servicing between client events.

Of course, the biggest field was made up of the XX program, with FXX, FXX-K, FXX-K Evo, and 599XX cars all screaming around the palace of speed that is Monza. Of these, the standouts were the insanely loud 599XX’s, and the unbelievably fast FXX-K Evo’s.

599XX being chased by an FXX into Variante Ascari

The rarest class at these events is the F1 clients. Ferrari will often offer one or two of their Formula 1 cars for sale after they have been out of the championship for a couple of years, with loyal clients getting the first choice. At this meeting, two F1 clients made it out, with one driving the 2008 season F2008 Kimi Raikkonen car, and the other driving the 2013 F138 Fernando Alonso car.

2013 F138 Fernando Alonso screaming through Lesmo 1

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Ferrari meeting without the GT cars. The Corsa Clienti at Monza this year featured multiple 488 GT3 and GTE cars, 458 GTE’s, and even an F430 Scuderia GT3.

A 458 GTE chases a 488 GT3 Evo through Variante Ascari

However, words and pictures can only do so much. Watch the video, let your ears be bathed in the sounds of screaming V8’s, roaring V12’s, and the snarls of Formula 1 cars as they celebrate speed at Monza!

May 3, 2021 / Comments Off

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Bentley’s 2021 Pikes Peak racer unveiled

Bentley wants to add a third consecutive victory to their Pikes Peak performance, they already managed the Production SUV record and the Production Car record in 2018 and 2019, and now want to tackle the Time Attack 1 record with a very special, bespoke built race car driven by former ‘King of the Mountain’, Rhys Millen.

The new Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak has been specifically designed to compete for the Time Attack 1 record at this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb taking place on June 27 this year, the 12.42-mile course will be run on a biofuel based gasoline, a first for a competition Bentley, as a goal to offer sustainable fuels to Bentley’s customers around the world.

This specific car is a heavily modified Continental GT3 racer, run in conjunction with British Continental GT3 customer team Fastr, who have successfully campaigned their Bentley race car in time attack competitions in the UK. Teams from both Bentley and Fastr are working together with specialists from M-Sport in Cumbria to achieve the maximum possible performance from the Continental GT3 package, before taking the car to Colorado where it will be driven by Fastr with assistance from K-PAX Racing.

Taking the Time Attack 1 record will have this Continental GT3 Pikes Peak cover the climb in less than 9 minutes and 36 seconds while reaching an average speed of 78 mph over the 156 corners during a nearly 5,000 ft climb, but as the start is already at a 9,300 ft elevation, the finish at 14,100 ft high comes with a 1/3 less density for the air compared to sea level, which requires very specific settings for both the car’s aerodynamics and the engine tuning.

This 2021 Bentley Continental GT3 Pikes Peak boasts the largest rear wing ever seen on a Bentley, a massive rear diffuser helps even further while the front has a two-plane splitter fitted together with massive ‘dive planes’ on either side for optimum stability in those grueling 156 corners that have to be taken at the highest possible speed to reach that record-setting time at the finish.

At this time the Continental GT3 Pikes Peak is undergoing final testing and fine-tuning in the UK, but the car will soon be transported to the USA for high-altitude testing to make sure the car is as ready as possible for the ultimate test on June 27 at the 99th running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

April 13, 2021 / Comments Off

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Porsche WEC entry

Later this month the 2021 WEC, World Endurance Championship, will start with a prologue at the famous Spa Francorchamps track in Belgium (26-27 April) while the first actual race for points will be the 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps on May 1, but it won’t be until the 8 Hours of Partimão in Portugal before Porsche puts three drivers behind the wheel of their impressive 911 RSR.

Porsche wants to create a perfect synergy between these six drivers (three for each car entered) ahead of the 24 Hours of Lemans which was originally intended to be held on June 13 (which is now the date for the race at Partimão) but was postponed to August 21-22, and with this driver line-up, Porsche went for a proven setup, among them, these six drivers have 59 LeMans participations under their belt.

The Porsche 911 RSR starting number 91 will see French driver Frédéric Makowiecki join Gianmaria Bruni from Italy and Richard Lietz from Austria (the latter two being the pilots for the shorter races already) in Portugal to do a test run for the major event at LeMans in August, Makowiecki has been driving at LeMans for the last three consecutive years already.

The second Porsche 911 RSR, wearing number 92, driven by Neel Jani from Switzerland and Kévin Estre from France will see Michael Christensen from Denmark joining the team, he won the GTE-Pro class at LeMans back in 2018, Neel Jani won the overall classification of the 24-hour French classic in 2016 at the wheel of the Porsche 919 Hybrid, together with Romain Dumas (France) and Marc Lieb (Germany). His five teammates have harvested eight class victories so far with the 911 RSR at the tradition-steeped endurance race at the Sarthe.

The second round of the 2021 World Endurance Championship, held in Portugal, is a perfect opportunity to do a rehearsal run with three drivers in each car. An 8-hour race on the 4,692-kilometer circuit in Portugal’s Algarve is ideal to offer each driver ample track time at the wheel of the 515 hp Porsche 911 RSR to get things finetuned for the 89th running of the long-distance classic in France in August this year.

April 13, 2021 / Comments Off

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Street legal LMH from Glickenhaus?

For the 2021 edition of the 24h of Le Mans, Glickenhaus Racing already has a car on the test track, called the SCG 007 LMH, and they intend to enter two of these next-generation hypercars into the most famous endurance race in Europe … but things got even better, Glickenhaus also has at least one customer put in an order for an SCG 007 LMH too, so we might be seeing three or more of these cars battle it out on the Circuit de la Sarthe in late August this year (the initial date for June has been postponed due to COVID 19).

There is a Prologue for the 2021 FIA WEC championship on the famous Belgian track at Spa Francorchamps in late April (26-27), but at this point, it is uncertain if the SGC 007 LMH will be present at the prologue with all the restrictions and regulations in place worldwide these days, the first actual race in the 2021 World Endurance Championship is the Total 6 Hours of Spa Francorchamps on May 1.

In a recent Instagram post by Glickenhaus we learned something really interesting … aside from the SGC 007 LMH race cars they will be building, the intention is to also offer a limited production run of 24 street-legal versions, called the SGC 007S, it will be closely related to the race car, but come with all the requirements for it to be allowed on the open road, initially for the US market, but Glickenhaus is thinking about making it meet regulations for other markets too.

Glickenhaus calls it a “once in a lifetime chance” to obtain a race car for the road, and he’s thinking about a three-seat configuration for the cockpit, with the driver in the middle … now where did we see that before? But it gets even better, while the race car is powered by a 3.5-Liter, twin-turbo V8 engine that has to be limited to 680 hp to comply with FIA WEC regulations, there is no limit set for a street version … and for the SGC 007 Stradale they list a massive 1,400 hp … in a 2,800 lbs car!

The Glickenhaus SGC 007S will come with aerodynamics almost identical to the LMH race car, the intention is you can just drive your SGC 007S to the track on street tires, pull into a pit box and raise the car on its own, onboard air jacks to fit racing slicks so you can to lots of laps on the track, only to come back into the pits, replace the tires with the threaded once for the street … and drive home, all while enjoying bespoke Traction Control, ABS and even ESC.

But there is one catch … Glickenhaus requires all 24 SGC 007S to be ordered in advance, at US$2,300,000 each, with a deposit, before they even start on the first chassis, with a delivery time of two years, starting when the 24th order is signed and paid for … so taking delivery of your SGC 007S might be a while.

It seems Glickenhaus already has three signed orders for their SGC 007S, only 21 more to go … and in case they don’t reach their 24 car goal, the deposits are refundable … and all this before anyone has even seen a 3D render on how the street-legal SGC 007S will look.

March 26, 2021 / Comments Off

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The Vantage F1 Edition

Previously we already published the return to Formula One by Aston Martin and the fact they would bring along the official 2021 F1 Safety Cars for the first time in history, because the special Aston Martin Vantage F1 Safety car was a modified version of the ‘normal’ production model, Aston Martin deemed it interesting to offer their wealthy customers the possibility to obtain a similar car to be driven on the road instead of on the track.

In comes the Vantage F1 Edition, a track-focussed road car based on the Vantage as an Official Safety Car of Formula 1 that comes with the uprated engine, modified chassis, and naturally the special aerodynamic upgrades as seen on the Safety car, the first deliveries of the Vantage F1 Edition are foreseen for May 2021 already.

The Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition is a celebration of the return to Formula One racing after six decades, this model is now the top-of-the-line offering in the Vantage line up at Aston Martin, the most sporting Vantage in the product range and in essence, a replica of the Vantage Official Safety Car of Formula 1.

The Vantage F1 Edition comes with a 25PS power increase, to 535PS in total, and while the maximum torque of 685Nm is the same as the base Vantage, on the F1 Edition this number can be maintained for longer in the 8-speed automatic transmission by implementing an optimized torque cut during upshifting.

A modified suspension comes with reworked dampers and more structural stiffness for the front, the result is less vertical body roll, both at speed and over crests while still maintaining a relatively comfortable driving experience at low speeds, while the larger 21-inch wheels for the Vantage F1 Edition come with bespoke Pirelli tires specifically developed for this F1 Edition to ensure progressive on-limit handling to give maximum confidence in even the most extreme track driving scenarios.

While the rear diffuser is taken from the base Vantage, the full-width front splitter, the front dive planes, and the underbody turning vanes are specifically designed for the F1 Edition, as is that impressive rear wing … with these modified aero parts, the Vantage F1 Edition creates 200 kg more downforce at top speed compared to the regular Vantage.

With every special edition model comes a bespoke color palette, and the Vantage F1 Edition is no different, so your first option for the bodywork of this new Aston Martin is naturally the famous Aston Martin Racing Green color scheme, which mimics the Formula One team car and the Safety Car livery … on the Vantage F1 Edition you can opt for either a glossy finish or a satin topcoat.

Other options are either Jet black or Lunar White, while no matter what color you choose, you’ll get Solid Matte Dark Grey racing graphics on your F1 Edition, while for the interior you have the option of Obsidian Black Leather and Phantom Grey Alcantara upholstery and trim, with a choice of Lime Green, Obsidian Black, Wolf Grey or Spicy Red contrast stripe and stitching.

MSRP in the UK is set at £142,000 while for the German market they list at €162,000, a price for the US market hasn’t been listed at this moment … and just in case you prefer top-down driving, fear not, this new Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition is also available as a Roadster next to the Coupe version.

March 22, 2021 / Comments Off

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McLaren 720S GT3X

We all know there are a lot of restrictions when it comes to road cars, but also purebred racecars have limits imposed on them, when McLaren Customer Racing created their 720S GT3, it had to comply with FIA GT3 regulations … but what would happen when you can create a track car with no limits?

Then you get the McLaren 720S GT3X, where the X comes with no motorsport restrictions whatsoever, this is a new, track-only car based on the 720S GT3, but she isn’t homologated for racing, the hand-built, 4.0-Liter V8 twin-turbo engine delivers 750PS in this ‘X’, while taking advantage of the chassis and aerodynamic characteristics of its latest-specification, race-winning 720S GT3 to optimize the owner’s driving enjoyment on circuits during track days for instance.

A six-speed sequential motorsport transmission is fitted to a bespoke M840T engine that comes with a blueprinted cylinder head, strengthened pistons, ‘Diamond Like Carbon’ (DLC) coating, add the lightweight performance exhaust system and the result is an overall weight of only 1,210kg (2,668lbs) for this stripped-down track car, with the ‘push-to-pass’ button on the steering wheel, an extra 30PS over the available 720PS boosts power to an impressive 750PS.

Development of the GT3X saw a focus on pure engineering, innovative aerodynamics, and efficient design, taking the car for many thousands of kilometers on tracks all over Europe and the Middle East. Without having to deal with regulations, the 720S GT3X is a true performance-optimized evolution of the bespoke GT3 racecar. The aerodynamically optimized body has been developed using ‘Computational Fluid Dynamics’ (CFD) combined with F1 wind tunnel testing.

On this new McLaren 720S GT3X the body gets hand-finished in metallic MSO Carbon Black paint, a pinstripe in heritage McLaren Orange (reminding is of the famous winning McLaren Formula 1 cars in the 1960s) is added to the lower edges of the ground-hugging body shape and the outer rim of the gloss black center-locking wheel rims, a really nice touch is the large ‘X’ on top of the canopy.

While there was no requirement to do this, McLaren did install an FIA-approved race seat made from carbon fiber and Kevlar, in the GT3X the pedals and steering wheel can be adjusted for the driver, and to share in the fun of taking a racecar around the track, there is an option to fit an extra safety-compliant passenger race seat complete with a six-point harness, McLaren even altered the roll cage to accommodate this second seat.

“Due to GT3 balance of performance requirements, the 720S GT3 car has to run with a considerably reduced power output than the road-going 720S Spider and Coupe variants. The brief for the GT3X project was to unleash the full potential of the 720S GT3 car using a massively increased power output to fully exploit the aerodynamics and chassis dynamics of the car. Additionally, the car is now able to carry passengers for the first time, thanks to the re-design of a new bespoke roll-cage and passenger seat installation. Brake cooling has also been improved to cope with the additional demands of increased speed and the mass of a passenger.

The 720S GT3X now offers a unique opportunity to experience a fully-fledged GT3 car. The lap time is significantly reduced from the GT3 benchmark through both the huge standard power increase and the additional 30bhp from the push-to-pass button. The end result is a car that offers a truly unique experience.”
Ian Morgan, Director, McLaren Customer Racing

Do keep in mind this amazing McLaren 720S GT3X can’t be ordered at a regular McLaren dealership, you will have to turn to one of only 11 official McLaren Motorsport Retailers worldwide, as part of the purchase and ownership package, McLaren Automotive can provide dedicated technical track support for each owner. This program is carried out by the customer support engineers from the in-house McLaren Customer Racing division – the team that has designed and developed the model alongside the 720S GT3 global customer race program.

March 18, 2021 / Comments Off

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Ferrari Announces Season 2 Of The Ferrari eSports Championship

Ferrari announced today the return of their Ferrari eSports Championship, a dedicated spec series that is raced online, for a second season. Registration opens today, March 16, 2021, with the first qualifying session in early April.

The series, open to European residents only due to flight and travel restrictions this year due to the global pandemic, is run on the well-known and well-loved Assetto Corsa simulator, produced by Kunos Simulazioni. After confirmation of registration, participants will be able to download two dedicated cars for the competition, with many hours of input from official Ferrari drivers, including Charles LeClerc.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship Charles LeClerc — Charles LeClerc testing the cars for this years Ferrari eSports Championship

These two cars will be the Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo, returning from the 2020 season, and the new dedicated championship car, the Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship 488 Challenge Evo — Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo

Qualification rounds last from April until the end of July, with one day per month dedicated to “The Hotlap Challenge.” Using one of the four cars available, including the two provided by Ferrari as well as the in-game Ferrari 599XX Evo and the Ferrari FXX-K, registered participants have four chances, if they attend all the hotlap challenges, to place in the top 24 times for that car.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship cars 599XX Evo — Ferrari 599XX Evo

Those qualifiers are then put into the 488 Challenge Evo for a series of four elimination races until the 96 qualifiers are reduced to 48 finalists by mid-August.

Those 48 finalists will then take part in the actual championship series in September, with once-weekly full duration races lasting from a sprint (1 hour) to endurance (3 hours) depending on the race venue.

The top 24 drivers by points after those four rounds will qualify for the grand final, which will occur in December. The grand final consists of three races, with three different cars (the two official 488’s and the 599XX), and the driver with the most points at the end of all three is crowned the champion.

2021 Ferrari eSports Championship cars FXX-K Evo — Ferrari FXX-K

Running alongside the drivers’ qualification rounds from April to July is a new entry for 2021, namely the livery design championship. This allows creative people from across the globe to download a template, apply their own special touch to it artistically, and then submit it for review by official Ferrari representatives who will choose the 48 best liveries, and assign them to drivers for the official competition rounds.

So what’s in it for the participants, we hear you asking?

The champion driver will be invited down to Maranello, to the Ferrari factory, to join both the Ferrari Driver’s Academy and Ferrari eSports Team, and represent Ferrari at multiple online racing events. These events can include participation in the Virtual Formula 1 eSports Championship, World Virtual Endurance Championship, and other official racing series. As part of their prize, they also get to drive an actual Ferrari 488 Challenge Evo around Fiorano, to understand how the actual car handles compared to the virtual car, and carry that knowledge back into the games.

All in all, not a bad thing to race online for!

March 16, 2021 / Comments Off

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In Memoriam: Murray Walker, The Voice Of Formula 1

Many of us that love supercars and hypercars today, grew up watching the incredible machinery of various racing championships duking it out on the track. British Touring Cars, World Touring Cars, and of course, Formula 1, brought us many wheel-to-wheel battles that got our young hearts beating faster, and much of it was commentated over by one legendary voice.

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Murray Walker, whose mildly high-pitched, English-accented voice, graced our ears with excitement and brought many of the amazing parts of many races to vivid life with his color commentary. His enthusiasm was infectious, and he famously never sat down to commentated on a race, because he knew that he would make a racket knocking his chair over when he would leap to his feet when something happened.

Although his commentary career with Formula 1 lasted an incredible 23 years, from 1978 to 2001, in that time he became a household name. Coming from a background in advertisement and marketing, where he would both create slogans for products and do their voice-overs for radio and television commercials, he did in fact have a background in motorsports commentary.

With his father Graham, from 1949 through to 1962, Walker would provide the color commentary on many motorcycle hill-climb events, as well as British Motorcycle Grand Prix racing and, most notably, the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) motorcycle race. He moved on from commentary as a primary focus following the death of his father in late 1962, who himself had taken part in the Isle of Man TT, winning the Lightweight class in 1931.

Murray Walker in the commentary booth — Image courtesy of Formula 1 Media

It was in 1978, however, when asked by the head of BBC Sport to fill in for a bit as their regular color commentator was having contract negotiations, that Murray Walker became the voice of Formula 1. Alongside the legendary James Hunt, who had battled Niki Lauda to win the 1976 F1 Championship, his excited, bubbly commentary underlined by Hunt’s serious, somber expert knowledge made them instantly the most loved commentary team.

It was in the 1980s when one of the most famous of his Walkerisms, as his often stutters or famous sayings became known as was born. There, you sat in front of the TV as the parade lap finished, the cars slotting into their grid boxes. And then his voice would grow more excited as he counted:

“One light… two lights… THREE LIGHTS!… FOOOOOUR LIGHTS!….. FIVE LAPS! Pause! GO GO GO!”

You could not help but jump up and cheer on your favorite driver as those three famous GO!’s were called out. And you couldn’t help but be as moved as he was when Damon Hill became the World Champion in 1996.

Murray Walker — Image courtesy of Formula 1 Media

When he retired in 2001, his commentary partner of the time, former F1 driver Martin Brundle, stated that there would be no other color commentator like him in a generation. While he did often make guest appearances and commentary on the Isle of Man TT and some Formula 1 broadcasts, he slowly withdrew from the public’s eye.

And so it was that on a quiet Saturday, his wife Elizabeth by his side, on March 13, 2021, he slipped from this Earth. He was the commentator of a generation, and we will not see his like for a while.

March 15, 2021 / Comments Off

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JOTA McLaren 720S GT3

McLaren Customer Racing today confirms that renowned Sportscar racing team JOTA will contest a McLaren 720S GT3 in this year’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS championship with an all-McLaren Factory Driver line-up of Ben Barnicoat, Rob Bell and newly-promoted Oliver Wilkinson.

JOTA has a strong reputation in Sportscar racing, with two LMP2 class wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours. In 2017 the team challenged the factory LMP1 entries for victory, eventually finishing second and third overall. The 2021 GT World Challenge Europe campaign marks a return to GT competition for the UK-based team.

The JOTA McLaren 720S GT3 – image courtesy of Khyzyl Saleem

JOTA will field a McLaren 720S GT3 in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance and GT World Challenge Sprint categories, both of which qualify as points-scoring rounds for the overall championship. The 720S GT3 made its debut in the series last year and enters the 2021 season in world-class form, having won the Gulf 12 Hour race in January.

Wilkinson made his debut as a McLaren Professional Driver in 2020, scoring a string of outright and Silver Cup podium finishes, leading to a top ten placing in the standings alongside Lewis Proctor at McLaren Customer Racing team Optimum Motorsport. In addition, he contested selected GT World Challenge outings with Bell and Joe Osborne in the Optimum 720S GT3. Earlier this year he received full British Racing Drivers’ Club member status in recognition of his efforts, a hugely prestigious honour for British racing drivers.

Wilkinson will now join Barnicoat, fresh from his victory in the Gulf 12 Hour race with a McLaren Customer Racing team 2 Seas Motorsport 720S GT3 and is reunited with Bell, who finished third in the 2019 British GT Championship with the McLaren Customer Racing team Balfe Motorsport 720S GT3.

“It’s tremendously exciting for us to have JOTA onboard for 2021, with three McLaren Factory Drivers also involved in the programme. The team’s vast experience and success in endurance racing and professionalism will, I’m confident, allow them to compete at the highest level throughout 2021 in the 720S GT3. I’m also delighted to see Oliver Wilkinson step up to a full McLaren Factory Driver programme this year, supported by both Rob Bell and Ben Barnicoat, and I look forward to watching his progression.”
Ian Morgan, Director, McLaren Customer Racing

“The last time I was involved with a McLaren motorsport program was as a director of McLaren Cars from 1994- 97. It was the era in which we famously won the 24 Hours of Le Mans at our first attempt. We also took multiple race wins and two titles in the BPR Global Endurance championship. I am an enormous fan of the McLaren brand and thrilled to return with JOTA for the 2021 season. Both McLaren and JOTA have similar DNA in the sense of a great depth in engineering capability and a winning mentality. Both my partner, Sam Hignett, and I have worked enormously hard to make JOTA not just a winning team but also a fun one to be around, so I think the collaboration between McLaren and JOTA together with three Factory Drivers will become a major force in GT racing.”
David Clark, Co-Owner, JOTA

“I’m extremely happy with my new appointment as a McLaren Factory Driver. It’s been my goal since starting my driving career, so a big thank you to McLaren for believing in me. The season should be brilliant and I’m extremely excited about teaming up with JOTA.”
Oliver Wilkinson, McLaren Factory Driver, McLaren Customer Racing

The Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS season gets underway at Monza in Italy on April 16-18.

March 14, 2021 / Comments Off

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One of 24 1986 Ford RS200 Evolution On Auction Block

When one thinks of supercars, the mind automatically wanders towards names like Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, and the like. It generally, at least until the 21st century, did not wander towards Ford. Yet, in the 1980’s, a special, unrestricted class of rallying known as Group B (or GrpB) thrust rallying supercars into the spotlight. The legendary Audi Sport Quattro S1 GrpB, the Lancia Delta S4 GrpB, and, in 1986, the Ford RS200 Evo GrpB. And one of the 24 Ford RS200 Evo homologation specials has made it to auction!

The rules were pretty simple: build at least 200 cars that were road-legal homologation specials of the rallying supercar, and you could enter under the Group B regulations. In the group, the only restrictions were really wheel size and the amount of fuel that could be carried. This ended up allowing cars with more than 500 HP and all-wheel-drive to race across the roughest, toughest terrain the world had to offer, at times hitting over 160 MPH on long straights.

Unfortunately, halfway through 1986, after a string of both driver, co-driver, and spectator deaths, the class was immediately suspended, and then later canceled. The next class that was in development, Group S, was also immediately canceled. This left teams that had joined the class in 1985 and 1986 high and dry, and the extremely restrictive Group A regulations were introduced a few months later, meaning the rally supercar was dead.

This specific car, converted from a standard RS200 to the uprated RS200 Evo’s that ended the production run, features a 2.1-liter BDT-E high-pressure turbocharged inline-four developed by Cosworth, producing a mindblowing 600 HP. It also howled like an absolute demon when pushed hard, the turbo screaming, the blowoff valve twittering away, and the engine growling nastily under it to produce the howl.

This is fed to all wheels through a rally-spec transfer case after going through a front-mounted five-speed manual transmission, which has straight-cut gears with no synchros, meaning you really need to be precise with your rev-matching.

This specific car also has only about 500 miles on the odometer, and the engine was completely stripped down to bolts and rebuilt in 2018 by Geoff Page Racing in England, a specialist engine refurbishing and build shop. It features a motorsports grade Holly fuel pump and fully braided stainless steel lines for fuel, brakes, and all hydraulics.

In another special setup, the RS200 Evo also features three limited-slip differentials: front diff, rear diff, and mid-mount transfer case diff. This ensures that the car, even when going at a fair clip, corners as if it was on rails. This is also one of the hardest cars to drive well, exactly because of that reason. Many drivers don’t expect the car to rotate around its cornering circle quite as rapidly and directly as it does.

It’s not a supercar because of exotic materials, a pleasant interior full of luxury, or for its ability to waft along comfortably. It’s not any of those things. It’s a supercar because it can quite literally out-drive, out-corner, and out-accelerate most modern supercars, with only hypercars being a match.

1986 Ford RS200 Evo turbo — That is one bigass turbo…

The RS200 Evo is currently on the block at $280,000 with 9 days left on the auction. A full 257 image gallery is available on BringATrailer.

March 10, 2021 / Comments Off

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Aston Martin Safety Cars

At the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix we will not only see the return of Aston Martin to Formula One racing with two cars, but for the first time in F1 history we will be seeing an Aston Martin as the Official Safety car and a second one as the Medical car, the first based on the Vantage while the DBX will be seen in the event of an emergency.

The Aston Martin Vantage Safety car will not be a factory standard model however, it is a custom built version with a modified chassis and improved aerodynamics, developed by the in-house team at Aston Martin’s Headquarters in Gaydon, the UK, this one-off will be driven by Bernd Mayländer (DE) who has been at the helm of the F1 safety car for over twenty years, the Aston Martin will remain on standby in the pit lane throughout the race.

In case of a problem on the track, and the safety car takes the lead, the slower speeds can cause the race cars tires to decrease in temperature, so the pace car has to able to reach high speeds quickly, this special Aston Martin Vantage has it’s power increased to 535PS from the 4.0-Liter twin-turbo V8 … she’s able to reach 60mph in only 3.5 seconds.

The Vaned grille coupled with a new front splitter creates 155.6kg of downforce at 200km/h; more than 60kg than the production Vantage produces at the same speed. Modifications to the suspension, steering and dampers have also been undertaken, with further detailed underbody bracing modifications to increase front structural stiffness. All this, together with a comprehensive aero kit and a switch to lower profile Pirelli tyres, the Aston Martin Vantage Official F1 Safety Car has all the credentials to handle a F1 circuit.

The return of two Aston Martin F1 race cars from the Cognizant Formula One Team comes with a new livery, 2021 Aston Martin Racing Green, specifically created to celebrate their return to F1 after 60 years, the front splitter is emphasized in Lime Essence, a shade we’ve already seen on the Vantage that competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).

The otherwise luxurious leather seats of the Vantage have been replaced by FIA-approved racing seats, complete with six-point safety harness, a pair of displays show a live feed of the race and individual car position of the competitors, the necessary switches for the lights and siren for instance have been placed on the central console. The Aston Martin Vantage Safety car even comes with outside cameras so they can broadcast a live feed from this car on the track.

The official Medical Car for the 2021 season is based on the Aston Martin DBX, the larger SUV comes in the same livery combining Racing Green and Lime green, powered by the same 4.0-Liter twin-turbo V8 engine, in the DBX she pumps out 550PS and 700Nm which allows the DBX Medical car to reach 62mph in 4.5 seconds with a top speed of 181mph.

Whilst the interior trim is fully representative of a customer vehicle, the central rear seat has been removed, and the remaining four have been replaced with sport bucket seats, each equipped with a 6-point safety harness. These provide seating for the driver, Alan van der Merwe and Dr Ian Roberts – the FIA Formula 1^®Medical Response Coordinator, as well as a Local Doctor, leaving one spare.

The development of both these Official Safety Car of Formula 1^® and Official Medical Car of Formula 1^® was carried out by the engineering team at Aston Martin. Both vehicles have endured significant testing, which included high-speed durability assessments and aggressive circuit driving at the Aston Martin facility at Silverstone, totting up almost 15,000km collectively. The vehicles have also been tested in a dyno climate chamber to ensure they will perform in all race conditions.

Aston Martin fans will be able to see the Aston Martin Vantage Official Safety Car of Formula 1^® in action for the first time during the three-day pre-season test at Bahrain on 12-14 March, and then again during the opening round of the FIA Formula One^®World Championship, at the same venue two weeks later.

March 9, 2021 / Comments Off

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US car to win the 24h of Le Mans?

Remember our Ford GT Heritage article from last week, where we mentioned the 2006 edition to be a celebration livery of the classic Ford GT40 that managed to win the grueling 24 of Le Mans race not once, but four times in a row between 1966 and 1969 … unfortunately that would mark the last time a car made in the USA won the French endurance race.

But all that might be changing for the 2021 edition of the 24h of Le Mans, Glickenhaus Racing already has a car on the test track, called the SCG 007 LMH, and they intend to enter two of these new generation hypercars into the most famous endurance race in Europe … and things get even better, Glickenhaus also has at least one customer put in an order for an SCG 007 LMH too, so we might be seeing three or more of these cars battle it out on the Circuit de la Sarthe in June this year.

The SCG 007 LMH is powered by a 3.5-Liter, twin-turbo V8 engine, and what is really amazing is the fact they only started this new engine for the first time in early February, and only a few weeks later it’s fitted onto the first SCG 007 chassis, and driven on the famous Vallelunga track in Italy for initial testing and fine-tuning.

The Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH at Vallelunga – Photo credits endurance24.fr

Both Romain Dumas and Franck Mailleux took stints on the Vallelunga track to prepare the new SCG 007 LMH to be entered into the 2021 FIA Endurance Championship, but it seems they will have to pass on the first race of the season on April 4: the 8 Hours of Portimao in Portugal. According to Dailysportscar, Glickenhaus will probably not be able to get the SCG 007 LMH homologated in time for Portugal as they can’t get the required 30-hour test-run done before April 4, and this is a final requirement for homologation to compete, and the worst part in this is … it isn’t even due to the cars not being ready, but due to the current regulation because of COVID-19, it is impossible to get the required parties together in time.

But Jim Glickenhaus made it abundantly clear when he stated: “there will be two SCG 007 LMH cars at the start of the 24h of Le Mans on June 12, no question about that”

The first chassis that performed the initial shake-down testing in Vallelunga after Podium Advanced Technologies developed and assembled the car at its facility in Italy will undergo further high-speed testing on the Monza track over the next days, and the second SCG 007 LMH is already being built at this time, Glickenhaus intends to have their second car ready for testing at Vallelunga by mid-March.

If all goes well we’ll be seeing at least two cars entered by Glickenhaus Racing, and possibly a third one from a private party, into the 2021 edition of the 24h of Le Mans, where these SCG 007 LMH will compete against the new hybrid LMH from Toyota, the V8 powered A480 from Alpine … it won’t be until 2023 before Ferrari joins the LMH ranks with their entry.

And the best is yet to come … as part of the homologation process, Glickenhaus will have to build a street-going version of this SCG 007 too, and rumor has it, the SCG 007 Stradale, with a similar powertrain to the racecar, will be available soon too, listed at a $2,100,000 base price … I for one can’t wait to see one of those drive up at a local Cars and Coffee event.

March 4, 2021 / Comments Off

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Alpine F1 for 2021

I don’t know about you, but I rather like the Netflix series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, I’ve seen both season 1 and season 2 and now I’m eagerly awaiting to start viewing season 3 when they release it on March 19 … and while I don’t normally watch the races when they happen, I do enjoy watching these behind the scenes series on Netflix.

So I might not be an avid F1 fan, but I’m a car guy, so I keep up with what’s happening anyway. Earlier this week I saw Mercedes releasing their new car for the 2021 season, the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance, the first car to use the ‘E PERFORMANCE’ designation. The new car will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, entering their fifth season as team-mates, a second year for the black base livery on the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team car it seems.

But today there is other breaking news, if you’ve followed the previous seasons of Formula One, you will have seen those bright yellow cars from the Renault F1 team … well, those are gone for 2021, it’s now called the Alpine F1 team, and their A521 race car comes in a blue, white, and red livery, which are both the official Alpine colors, but also the colors on the French national flag.

The A521 will use a Renault E-TECH 20B 1.6-Liter V6 engine, the car is an evolution of the R.S.20 that ran the 2020 F1 championship in the yellow Renault livery but with serious modification to the rear in line with the new aerodynamic regulations from the FIA, the new Alpine F1 will be driven by Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso.

The first-ever Alpine F1 Team car will make its on-track debut on March 3, 2021, with Esteban Ocon at a filming day at Silverstone Circuit, two weeks ahead of official pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

March 3, 2021 / Comments Off

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The Ecurie Ecosse C-type, a reincarnation of the legendary Fifties racing Jaguar

In 1952 a young Ian Stewart, pioneer driver for Ecurie Ecosse, would visit Jaguar Cars in Coventry to collect his brand-new C-type. He would drive the car to its first race on Jersey to confront stiff competition from Aston Martin and Frazer Nash. The race was won at a gallop and in doing so he opened the first chapter in Ecurie Ecosse’s international motor racing career.

Considerable success on the racetrack ensued for Ecurie Ecosse, their trophy cabinet bursting at the seams with 59 podium places secured across the seven C-type chassis raced by the team. Through clever tuning by legendary team manager ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson and meticulous planning by founder David Murray, they proved how capable the Jaguar C-type could be on the international stage and began a legacy that would take the Scottish national team to countless wins, including their crowning glory at La Sarthe.

The Jaguar C-type was a technological masterpiece. The first race car honed in the wind tunnel, first to use fuel ‘bag’ tanks (a technology borrowed from the aviation world) and the test bed for Dunlop’s revolutionary disc brakes. A steel space frame chassis formed the rigid backbone of these cars, clad in a lightweight, thin-gauge, streamlined aluminum body designed by Malcolm Sayer and powered by a silky smooth Jaguar ‘overhead cam’ straight-six engine. Stirling Moss once said: “I always really rated the C-type – for me it was a far better car than the D.”

Ecurie Ecosse have created a new car to pay homage to their past success. Current Ecurie Ecosse patron Alasdair McCaig said of their new car: “How better to celebrate the historic success of the Ecurie Ecosse C-types than to manufacture a batch of cars in their honor? The seven priceless chassis raced in period still exist today, coveted by their lucky owners, occasionally seeing the light of day for race or concours events. We are paying homage to these cars by creating a numbered sister car to each one. Meticulous in their detail, like their forebears, hand-built in Coventry and tuned by Ecurie Ecosse technicians.”

Ecurie Ecosse have retained all the key elements that contributed to the roaring success of the 1950s Jaguar racer while, in the true spirit of co-founder ‘Wilkie’ Wilkinson, making considered improvements. The aerodynamic shape remains, still crafted from thin-gauge aluminum alloy and mounted to a steel space frame chassis, but wider and stiffer than before, laser-cut for accuracy. The sonorous Jaguar straight-six XK engine remains too, although capacity has been increased to 4.2 litres and fuel injection fitted to bring power up to 300bhp.

The suspension and disc brakes have been uprated to cope with the additional performance and a five-speed gearbox added to maximize acceleration and top speed. The detail of the car is breath-taking, with the hand-crafted aluminum bucket seats clothed in supple blue leather by Crest, hand-airbrushed Ecurie Ecosse shields adorning the car’s flanks, and Tag Heuer ‘Master Time’ stopwatches on the dashboard. The first car is complete and available for viewing and test drive at their Henley-on-Thames dealership, Hofmann’s.

January 22, 2021 / Comments Off

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The M1 was the first BMW Motorsport car in the Eighties

These days everybody knows the BMW M3, the BMW M5 or the smaller BMW M2 … some of these even come in upgraded Competition versions, but all of these BMW Motorsport models that we know today had their origins back in the Eighties … with the M1, the first production car from BMW’s in-house Motorsport division.

1980 BMW M1 AHG – photo copyright BringATrailer auction site

At one point BMW even had Automobili Lamborghini SpA working on their new mid-engine super car … but sadly this didn’t go beyond a few prototypes being developed at Sant’Agata, the actual production models for the BMW M1 were assembled by Baur in Stuttgart, Germany.

Back in the early Seventies, BMW wanted to create a new model to enter into FIA Group 5 racing, and regulations required 400 cars to be sold to customers for road use, the BMW M1 was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The fiberglass bodies would be made in Italy and shipped to Germany for final assembly, where both road cars and bespoke race cars would be built side by side … a total of 450 BMW M1 would be built.

And now you might have a chance to own a piece of BMW Motorsport history in the shape of a bright white, 1980 M1 with AHG upgrades. This specific M1 (chassis WBS00000094301090) was delivered as a regular street version in late 1979, as a 1980 model, but only a few years later BMW dealer AHG added their ‘Studie’ package.

The AHG modifications included a power increase to 350 hp on the factory M88, 3,454cc in-line six cylinder engine, an impressive body kit inspired by BMW’s own Procar racers, complete with flared fenders, stunning 16″ BBS multi-piece wheels (8″ at the front, 9″ at the rear), a new exhaust, a bespoke, full black leather interior, and to make the look complete, a typical BMW Motorsport livery with the red and two-tone blue stripes.

Only 10 BMW M1 would be built with the AHG Studie package, which makes this already rare car, even more interesting, this BMW M1 ended up in the United States of America probably in the Nineties, but the current owner didn’t acquire it until 2014, today she is for sale at auction through a dealer in Costa Mesa, California … she holds a Montana title.

With still 10 days to go on the BringATrailer auction, this amazing 1980 BMW M1 has been bid up to $350,000, interested in placing a bid? Just go to the auction site, register, and try to put the winning bid in at BringATrailer 1980 BMW M1 auction

January 21, 2021 / Comments Off

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