Classic Cars

  • News

    A Ferrari 250 GTO Just Sold for a World Record Auction Price

    The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that went up for auction yesterday during the Bonhams sale at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering finally sold for $38,115,000, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a car at auction. The previous record was $29,650,000, paid last year for a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 Formula One car raced by Juan Manual Fangio.

    The classic Ferrari, bearing chassis #3851 GT, failed to meet predictions that it could become the most expensive car in the world, a title held by a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO thattraded hands last year for a staggering $52 million in a private sale.

    The Ferrari 250 GTO is currently the Holy Grail of collector cars, with only 39 ever made, some with impressive pedigrees. What also makes the 250 GTO special is that it was both a road car and race car, making it the pinnacle in Ferrari design and engineering at its launch.

    1963-ferrari-250-gto-with-chassis-3851-gt_100476863_l

    Four of the core group of 35 cars, those with 1962-63 style bodywork, were later converted into lower, flatter, longer-nosed ‘64 body form. So 31 of the original series have survived, of which only 28 cars have the 3.0-liter V-12 engine as true ‘250’ GTOs, and three with 4-liter V-12 engines as ‘330’ GTOs.

    This particular car was the 19th 250 GTO to be built, and it’s been in the one family’s care for no fewer than 49 years from 1965 until now. It left Ferrari’s factory in September of 1962 and was delivered to its first owner, French racing driver Jo Schlesser, to be co-driven by himself and French ski Champion Henri Oreiller in the 1962 Tour de France. The pair challenged for victory and finished an honorable second overall.

    The car was then crashed during a race at Montlhery Autodrome, just south of Paris, but was repaired and sold to gentleman driver Paolo Colombo the next year. It was then sold two more times, ending up in 1965 with Fabrizio Violati who said he saved the car from the scrapheap. Violati drove it right into the 2000s after which he chose to leave it in the hands of the Maranello Rosso Museum.

    If you missed out on this 250 GTO and are itching to unload some serious money on a car, another 250 GTO is currently up for sale in Germany. It has an asking price of 47.6 million euros (approximately $62.7 million), including Germany’s 19 percent Value Added Tax, which, if someone buys it, will make it the most expensive car in the world.

    via Motor Authority

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  • News

    You Won’t Believe The Classic Car Collection Jaguar Land Rover Have Bought

    Most of us wish we had the money and space for a huge collection of classic and vintage cars, but if you’re a major automaker such a collection is much easier to amass. Easier still if, like Jaguar Land Rover, you buy someone else’s existing collection of 543 vehicles. Said vehicles belonged to British enthusiast James Hull, but the vast reserve of vehicles, including dozens of rare Jaguar models, is now in the hands of the automaker itself. Prior to the sale, Hull’s collection was believed to be the biggest privately-owned roster of classic British cars anywhere in the world.

    The list of vehicles is enormous. Among those mentioned, the new acquisition includes everything from early Swallow Sidecars and Swallow coachbuilt Austin Sevens, pre-war SS models, seven XK 120 sports cars (one of which is a rare alloy-bodied example), C-types, D-types, an XKSS, eight E-types, thirty classic Jaguar ‘Mark’-denoted sedans, and a trifling nineteen XJS models and over twenty XJ saloons. If the latter two sound a little unspectacular, it should be noted that many had famous owners in a previous life.

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    Jaguar Land Rover says the new collection will be “actively used to support brand and experiential marketing”, and are sure to play a part in Jaguar’s increasing focus on its heritage—so expect to see appearances by some of the cars at events like the Mille Miglia or Goodwood Festival of Speed. The cars will be absorbed into Jaguar Heritage, a branch of Special Operations—the brains behind the Jaguar Project 7 sports car.

    Special Operations won’t just work on brand new vehicles like the Project 7, but has also been tasked with building and re-building iconic classics, like the run of six,1963 Lightweight E-Type racers. The attention to detail and engineering is such that the new cars will be separated by time alone from the originals–delayed production models, rather than recreations.

    Discretion prevents Jaguar from revealing just how much it paid for the Hull collection, but James Hull himself is confident it’s now in “safe hands”. “Travelling all over the world to build the collection over the years has been a labor of love and a life’s work, so my primary motivation was not to get the maximum price but rather to secure the future of the collection in this country with the right custodian,” he said.

    via Motor Authority

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  • Videos

    This “Getting Started” Symphony is Music to Any Gearheads’ Ears (VIDEO)

    "Getting Started" - 33 Exotic & Classic Cars Roar to Life

    Watch 33 exotic and classic cars roar to life to create a glorious symphony that is music to any petrol-heads ear.

    We have every rare collector car possible, from the ‘69 Jaguar E-Type’s quiet Inline-6 to the the roar of the Aventador’s 6.5L V12 and the vicious punch of the Saleen S7’s twin turbos, it’s rare to hear these starting up together in a beautiful synchronicity.

    Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.51.10 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.50.31 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.50.15 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.49.44 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.48.41 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.48.02 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.47.18 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.46.56 Screen Shot 2014-05-07 at 15.45.51 Getting Started Symphony

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  • Top 10s

    15 Eerie Pictures Of A Classic Car Graveyard (PHOTOS)

    car-graveyard-sweden

    This is further evidence that dereliction can be strangely beautiful.

    1. Deep within a Swedish forest lie 1,000 forgotten cars from the 1950s.
    Deep within a Swedish forest lie 1,000 forgotten cars from the 1950s.
    2. The rusting vehicles are all that remains of a scrap yard set up in the wake of the Second World War.
    The rusting vehicles are all that remains of a scrap yard set up in the wake of the Second World War.
    3. Back then it was the final destination for cars abandoned by American soldiers leaving Europe after the war.
    Back then it was the final destination for cars abandoned by American soldiers leaving Europe after the war.
    4. Two forest-dwelling Swedish brothers ran the scrap yard until the 1980s before they abandoned the site in the 1990s, leaving the forest undergrowth to claim the cars.
    5. Today, rusting classic cars including vintage Opels, Fords, Volvos, Buicks, Audis, Saabs and a Sunbeam litter the natural undergrowth.
    Today, rusting classic cars including vintage Opels, Fords, Volvos, Buicks, Audis, Saabs and a Sunbeam litter the natural undergrowth.
    6. Photographer Svein Nordrum ventured into the dense woods to snap some pictures of the abandoned vehicles.
    Photographer Svein Nordrum ventured into the dense woods to snap some pictures of the abandoned vehicles.
    7. He said: “It is very quiet in there. It is a strange feeling when you’re there, as if you’re on the edge of the world.”
    8. “The forest is very dense. You can only see a couple of cars at any one time – the rest disappear into the woods.”
    “The forest is very dense. You can only see a couple of cars at any one time - the rest disappear into the woods.”
    9. “The cars are now a part of nature in a way. The trees grow all over and through the cars, with branches sneaking through windows and over the bonnets.”
    “The cars are now a part of nature in a way. The trees grow all over and through the cars, with branches sneaking through windows and over the bonnets.”
    10. The 1,000 corroded vehicles are collectively worth an estimated £100,000 in scrap.
    The 1,000 corroded vehicles are collectively worth an estimated £100,000 in scrap.
    11. However, efforts to remove the cars from the forest have been thwarted.
    12. Nordrum said: Nordrum said: “Some people in Sweden want to remove the cars, but environmentalists keep stopping them. Apparently birds and other animals have made nests in the bodywork.”
    Nordrum said: Nordrum said: “Some people in Sweden want to remove the cars, but environmentalists keep stopping them. Apparently birds and other animals have made nests in the bodywork.”
    13. The car graveyard is in the mining country of Bastnas, a town in southern Sweden.
    The car graveyard is in the mining country of Bastnas, a town in southern Sweden.
    14. Hikers have discovered trees growing around bodywork and moss covering seats and steering wheels.
    Hikers have discovered trees growing around bodywork and moss covering seats and steering wheels.
    15.

    Photos via: Svein Nordrum/Medavia.co.uk
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  • Hints & Tips/ Top 10s

    Affordable-ish Rides That Will Get You Laid and Others That, Well Won’t!

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’t

    If there is one thing that I have taken away from mainstream media, it is that a sexy vehicle will attract an equally sexy woman. But with so many on the market how do you know which ones are really “chick magnets”? [said in best Borat voice]  Don’t fret any longer; I have compiled a list of the most affordable rides on the market to get you laid, and some to avoid like the plague.

    The Good:

    2014 Chevrolet Corvette

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via Autoblog

    Let’s assume for a moment that you have $60,000 lying around to spend on the best wingman money can buy, the 2014 Corvette Convertible.  If you do; then consider purchasing this triple threat that will have ladies dropping their jaws, tops, and panties.

    2014 Lexus IS

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via Uncrate

    A Lexus screams luxury and sexiness. The IS series offers up a range of options that are not only affordable, but also a great value.  Take this beauty for a night out and she may not even be the prettiest thing you come home with.

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    2014 Ford Mustang 

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via GTSpirit

    A little more reasonably priced, this baby combines the old-school muscle car with a fresh, sleek look.  Pull back the retractable roof and speed down the highway in this American classic. Before you know it, your girl’s hair in the wind won’t be the only thing being blown.

    The Badass:

    2014 Jeep Wrangler

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via WakPaper

    Are you a rough and rugged manly man? Well even if you aren’t you can still pull the wool over the ladies eyes with the help from a 2014 Jeep Wrangler. Nothing says fun like a Wrangler and if own one then you’ll see they can pull a lot more than trailers.

    2014 Chevy Silverado

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via AutoBlog

    Guys, let’s face it, women love a man who can take control. Nothing says that more than a heavy-duty pickup truck.  The 2014 Silverado is the perfect truck to lasso in your damsel in distress. In no time you will be (cough cough) “like a rock”.

    The Classics Restored

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via Roadrunner

    A restored muscle car or even Volkswagen shaggin’ wagon, will aid in your various sexcapades.  Restoring a vehicle will show ladies that you can take time and be delicate with fragile parts. It also broadens your casting net, opening windows of opportunity for nostalgic lays.

    The Ugly:

    The Prius

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’t Image via Gas2org

    Sure it is popular to be environmentally conscious, but is it sexy? Doubtful! The Prius screams pansy and as we mentioned earlier, girls want a strong, confident man. Who cares about how much gas costs or whether you are leaving a huge carbon footprint on the environment? If you think a girl is going to get in bed with you because you drive a Prius, then you need to stop using that artificial sugar from your Indie coffee shop.

    Toyota Camry

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’tImage via Wikipedia

    The Camry is one of the most reliable and well known cars available. This is exactly the reason that no girl is going to want to sleep with you for driving one. A girl is not looking for boring and predictable, oh contraire, they want exciting and dangerous. You just are not going to find that in a Camry. Sure, your parents would love for you to drive a Camry because they know you can’t possibly get into trouble in one, but where’s the fun in that?

    The Minivan

    Affordable-ish Rides that will get you laid and others that, well won’t Image via AutoBlog

    This atrocious automobile offers little to nothing for the male specie looking to get laid. Aside from room to perform the act, the vehicles only other benefit is likely to be a backseat DVD Player. It will be a tough task, but if you are able to coax a lady back into the van, you can at least salvage the night with a nice movie. Avoid the minivan or any other van for that matter at all cost!

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  • Videos

    This Is The First Ford Mustang Ever Sold and It Is Still Running (VIDEO)

    The first Mustang ever sold – and it’s still running
    The first ever Ford Mustang was bought by 22 year old third grade teacher Gail Wise back in 1964 on the 15th April for $3400 and it is still running today!Gail Wise bought the car two days before the then completely newFord Mustang was supposed to go on sale. But for the recent college graduate, it just so happened to be her lucky day. Gail who needed a car to get to her new went with her parents to the local Ford dealership, where a salesman was all too happy to show her the Mustang hidden in the back.

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    Technically, he wasn’t supposed to sell it to anyone for another couple of days, but business is business. Up until now, Wise and her husband haven’t heard of anyone else buying a Mustang before April 17, 1964.

    So cool!

    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold
    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold
    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold
    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold
    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold
    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold
    This is the First Mustang Ever Sold

    See original Article at : carbuzz.com

     

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  • News

    Check Out This Ferrari 250 GTO Carved From Marble Rocks

    The Ferrari 250 GTO ranks as perhaps the most valuable production car ever made. In just the past two years, units of the ultimate ’60s sports car have sold for $32 million, $35 million and maybe as high as $52 million. With just 39 of them ever assembled, these Ferrari owners are among a rarefied class of an already top-tier class of car collectors. So once you collect the ultimate car, then what do you do? How about buy a scale model of it hewn from a single block of Arabescato marble by stone specialist Lapicida?…

    Read full article here at ca.autoblog.com

    Marble Ferrari 250 GTO Marble Ferrari 250 GTO
    Ferrari-250-GTO

     

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  • News

    Is This The BEST Car Auction In The World?

    The rich of the world are gathering in Paris for another glut of extraordinarily expensive classic cars up at auction, this time from Bonhams. What makes this auction different is that it’s in Le Grand Palais in Paris and holy shit is it gorgeous.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    A 1959 Cadillac Series 62 getting inspected.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    A 1984 Ferrari F1 car. You can read more about it right here.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    A legendary 1929 Bugatti Type 35B, quite possibly the winningest race car of all time.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    Not all classic cars are multi-milliondollar affairs. That Peugeot is quite fetching.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    Why the photographer did not focus on the Ford RS200 or the Maserati Bora in the background is beyond me. I guess Isettas are sweet, though.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    An unrestored 1962 Facel Vega Facel II. You can read a great explanation of the overblown barn-find craze right here.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    That is one fine staircase. Also, blacking out the lower half of Panteras looks fantabulous.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    Rolls-Royces. Stately.

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    Who let a Mondial in here?

    Is This The Prettiest Car Auction In The World?

    All Photo Credits: Getty Images

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  • Super Cars

    Ferrari 250 TR sells for $40m (PHOTOS)

    Ferrari 250 TR sells for £24m (PHOTOS)

    Ferrari 250 TR sells for £24m (PHOTOS)

    Here’s an opportunity to gloss over the nightmares you’ve no doubt been having about those 2014 Formula One nosecones and their assorted ‘appendages’*. It’s a chance to look at a very pretty Ferrari that’s just sold for a record £24 million ($40million). Ching, and indeed, ching.

    It’s 1961 Formula One world champion Phil Hill’s old racer; the car he raced along with Peter Collins to win the 1958 12hrs of Sebring, and therefore comes with proper racing pedigree.

    It’s also ruinously, sucker-punch, crazy expensive, topping the £20.2 million paid in 2012 for a Ferrari 250 GTO. It’s the most expensive ever car sold in Britain, no less.

    Derbyshire dealer Tom Hartley Jnr bought the car from a businessman named Eric Heerema, and sold it on to an anonymous buyer, achieving that eye-watering price tag thanks to its ‘unmolested’, totally original condition. Underneath sits a 3.0-litre V12 engine with 300bhp – the same as an Opel Astra OPC Cup car, if you want a surprising comparison – that’s good for a 0-60mph sprint of around six seconds and top speed of 167mph.

    In fact, its so good, noted Ferrari historian Marcel Massini describes this exact model – chassis 0704 – to be one of the top five Ferraris on the planet. “It is so valuable because it is totally unmolested and not restored, genuine and very original. It also comes with a fantastic history which is most important.”

    Ah yes, history. This 250 TR raced at the 1957 Le Mans race, running as high as 2nd place but failed to finish. Under Hill and Collins’s stewardship the following year however, the car picked up two wins – the 1,000km Buenos Aires and 12hrs of Sebring – to help the factory cars win four of the six races to secure Ferrari’s third consecutive World Sportscar Championship constructor’s title.

    It was then sold to an American customer who drove it to 16 race victories across the pond, before it was donated to the Ford Dearborn Museum in 1967, where it stayed for 30 years.

    “I believe the Ferrari market will continue to go up as more and more wealthy people need to reinvest their cash, but there are not many top quality cars available” says Massini. Where will it end?

    *shudders

    Ferrari 250 TR sells for £24m (PHOTOS)

    Ferrari 250 TR sells for £24m (PHOTOS)

    Pics via SWNS.com

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  • Celebrity Cars

    Tim Allen And His 1968 Camaro Visit Jay Leno’s Garage (VIDEO)

    Tim Allen And His 1968 Camaro Visit Jay Leno's Garage (VIDEO)

    Tim Allen And His 1968 Camaro Visit Jay Leno's Garage (VIDEO)
    For the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, Tim Allen stopped by with his customized 1968 Camaro.

    Inspired by a green ’68 Allen used to see racing up and down Detroit’s Woodward Avenue, many subtle modifications and details cribbed from some legendary Camaro models.

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    Painted in the same shade as Allen’s teenage fascination, the Camaro wears COPO badges. While it’s not one of the original (and now extremely rare) COPO cars, it does feature a similarly monstrous “small-block” 427-cubic-inch V-8. It also has the hunkered-down stance of a Trans-Am racer. Think of it as a tribute to both cars.

    Yet at first glance, it looks remarkably stock, as Allen didn’t want to go too crazy with changes. The integrated fender flares and deleted drip rails give the car a muscular yet classy look, while the custom 17-inch Rally wheels keep things looking stock, but conceal upgraded Brembo disc brakes.

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    The engine bay got a similar remake. Allen said he wanted the swap to look like something that came right out of the Chevy factory, but also wanted to clean things up to properly show off that 427.

    This Camaro can still smoke its tires like any other ’60s muscle car, but upgrades to the structure and suspension give it the solidity and handling of a modern car, something Jay seemed very impressed with during the drive.

    via: Motor Authority

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  • Reviews

    The 5 Types Of Vintage Vehicle Owners

    5 types of vintage car owner

    Cherished motors and classic cars come in all shapes, sizes and ages. From Ford Model Ts to VW Camper Vans, whatever the vintage vehicle, there’s someone who wants to collect it.

    And or every classic vehicle, there’s a classic vehicle owner. Here’s a light-hearted look at some of the different types. Can you spot anyone you know?

    The Restorer

    Vintage E-Type Jaguar

    Whether it’s an E-type they’ve fixed from the chassis up, or a Triumph Spitfire that they’ve rescued from the wreckers yard; the restorer’s loving repairs have turned has-been motors into roadworthy works of art.

    For the restorer, the fun is all in the detail. They’ve got oil under their fingertips and an address book full of names of parts suppliers. All that tinkering and polishing isn’t for the money, it’s for the love of engineering.

    When they’re not found lying under their latest project in a pair of grimy overalls, restorers can be found at the Beaulieu
    National Motor Museum     or the Haynes Motor Museum, searching for inspiration for future projects.

    The Collector

    Vintage Lamborghini

    Do you have a vast private garage full of some of the world’s most expensive cars?

    Does your inventory include Bugattis, Ferraris, Porches and Lamborghinis? If it does, then you are a collector.

    The collector has lots of cars and, even more importantly, lots of money. After all, it costs a princely sun to own just one their vehicles, let a lone a whole scuderia. And that’s without factoring in running costs, suitable storage and the small matter of insuring each and every other collectable motor.

    Celebrity collectors include Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay, fashion designer Ralph Lauren and US TV host Jay Leno. Jay Leno has so many cars that he has created a website devoted to his full collection.

    Read more about some celebrity collectors and their mouth-watering vintage vehicle collections.

    The Perfectionist

    Ferris Buellers Ferrari 250

    It’s quality not quantity here that’s important. The perfectionist may not own the most expensive car in the world, or even the rarest, but you can be sure that their vehicle will be kept in pristine condition. Housed in a heated, carpeted garage, the perfectionist’s vehicle looks better now than the day it rolled off the garage forecourt.

    Think Cameron Frye’s Dad in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The perfectionist rarely drives their vehicle for fear of ruining
    it. Instead they keep it under lock and key in museum-like perfection. Only running the engine to tune it, or perhaps to let lucky visitors have a listen.

    The Competitor

    None

    Do you like to put your Alfa Spider or cherished Mini Cooper through its paces? Do you compete against other classic car owners and push your vintage vehicle to

    its limits? If you do, you’re a competitor.

    Simply cruising from London to Brighton isn’t enough for the competitor; they want a challenge that proves their vehicle’s mettle. That could mean competing in classic car rallies, or taking part in overland challenges in exotic locations.

     

    Fancy seeing what your classic vehicle is capable of? Get more details from:

    The Carhooter

    None

    Whether they own a Morris Minor or a classic Bentley, the Carhooter enjoys sharing their passion on and offline. On sunny Sundays they a jaunt through the countryside together, followed by the chance to share vintage anecdotes and
    instagrammed snaps on Carhoot.

    The Carhooter craves the fun and social side of vehicle ownership. Their car is as much a way to make friends and get out and about as it is a means of transport. And whilst there may be some element of competition involved, it’s the taking part and the camaraderie that’s more important.

    Do you want to start socialising more with your vintage vehicle? Why not join the Carhoots community? @carhootsapp

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