I spotted this awesome looking Ferrari 599 GTO at Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week. I was about to step into into a Jaguar F-Type V6 S for a drive when I heard a loud downshift with the unmistakable bark of a Ferrari V12. I quickly got my camera ready and caught the GTO right as it came into view. Great car.
-Nick
The Corvette has always been an American hero, able to rival Porsches and whatnot in lap times and speed. However, by almost all counts, the Corvette was never on the same level in terms of its driving experience, when compared to the Europeans. The Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray is probably the best Vette yet in terms of driving dynamics, so Autocar decided to see how it stacked up directly to its fiercest rivals from across the pond.
Keep in mind, British journalists, especially, tend to be heavy critics of Corvettes. Maybe they feel threatened by such a great American icon, I mean, the Vette is basically “the George Washington of cars”, and that might bring up some of their cultural bad memories from the late 1700s. Either way, all pokes aside, the Brits seem to like the C7 Stingray quite a lot, and it seems it is finally able to take on the Europeans on their own turf.
Enjoy, and let us know what you think in the comments.
-Nick
Say you have been very successful in your chosen career, and you are ready to treat yourself to a really nice set of wheels. Many die-hard car enthusiasts, like myself, would rather have a collection of a few different cars on a six-figure budget, but many folks still opt for just one car to suit all of their needs and desires. In truth, if you have a high-level executive job, you probably don’t have much spare time to spend cruising around just for fun in multiple, superfluous cars, so having one car that really knocks the ball out of the park is the only way to go.
Obviously, with such a large budget, you can basically have anything you want from a car without even straining yourself. That said, such a budget does allow you to get yourself something that is truly extraordinary, should you so wish. This is where a car like the new Jaguar XJR comes in.
Right at the entrance to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, last year, was an RM Auctions booth with this majestic 1953 Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione on display. It was a sort of tangible promotion for the auction they would be running in Lake Como, Italy later in the year, and what a way to draw attention! As a well-decorated classic racing car, this Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione just screamed top-dollar, and it wound up selling for around $13 million (9,856,000 Euros).
Many may wonder what makes this car $13 million worth of “special.” Just remember that cars have become like fine art at this point, and historical significance plays a huge role in these astronomical values. Most notably this car, chassis number 0320AM, helped to propel Ferrari to victory in the 1953 Manufacturer’s Championship. While it only took first place at the 12 Hours of Pescara, this 340/375MM managed to accrue many solid finishes that helped Ferrari earn valuable points. In particular, it placed 6th in the infamous Carrera Panamericana, and the car set a record over a stage of the race that has yet to be broken — averaging 138mph over 223 miles on public roads (yes there was pedestrian traffic during many races back then). Now just imagine trying that in even a fast modern car, let alone one with 1950s era technology, like this Ferrari.
Drive’s Chris Harris pits the new Chevrolet C7 Corvette against the Porsche 911 (991) Carrera S. The Corvette and the 911 have had quite a heated rivalry in the US over the years, but now you can almost buy two Corvettes for the Price of one 911 with all the options you’d want. So the question at this point is, are they even rivals anymore?
-Nick
It is our first day of Pebble Beach festivities, and Al and I are driving to The Inn at Spanish Bay for a press event. Right after making a left into the driveway we notice a dark shape approaching us, one that is extremely wide with the unmistakable styling of an Aston Martin. My immediate thought was DBS with some aftermarket body kit, but I quickly realized that we were face to face with the ultimate Aston Martin, the mighty One-77.
At the time we might as well have been staring at a living breathing unicorn. Time literally seemed to slow to a crawl as the One-77 rolled past, and the thought of our cameras did not even cross our minds until it was too late. Had we not had to be somewhere, we likely would’ve given chase, but after catching a glimpse of this incredible car, we knew we would have to find a way to track it down later on. Luckily for us, we were able to find the car again in Carmel, CA later that night, surrounded by other incredible Astons. What followed was one of the most incredible car spots of Monterey Car Week this year.
Continue reading Aston Martin One-77 Spotted In Carmel, CA
Monterey Car Week is a car spotter’s paradise that is on par with the streets of Monte Carlo or London during the “Arab Invasion” each summer. Rare and exotic cars are literally everywhere you look, and after a while, the run-of-the-mill Ferraris and Lamborghinis no longer seem all that exciting. With so many special cars running around, it takes something very special to grab your attention, especially once you’re a few days into the Monterey madness.
This Aston Martin V12 Zagato is one of those cars that can stop you dead in your tracks, even during Monterey Car Week. With just 150 V12 Zagatos having been built, you have more than double the chance of seeing a Ferrari Enzo on the street as you do this extra-curvy Aston. What’s more, the V12 Zagato was not officially imported into the US, making it that much rarer to see in a place like California. Obviously some special arrangements were made.
Continue reading Aston Martin V12 Zagato spotted in Carmel, CA
In this video from the The Smoking Tire, Matt Farah does a brilliant comparison between the Lamborghini Countach and the current Lamborghini Aventador Roadster. It is interesting to see how a now timeless classic compares to the latest and greatest V12 Supercar.
Enjoy.
-Nick
This 1914 American Underslung 642 Roadster was my own personal pick for “best in show” at the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey California. It just had that “wow” factor that took my breath away when I first saw it that day, and I still think it was one of the most beautiful cars on the field.
You might be asking yourself, right about now, “what the hell is an Underslung?” Incidentally, that was the same question I found myself asking that day. You see, these concours events are always a learning experience for me, as a member of the “millennial” generation. This is a car that was built when not my grandmother, but my great grandmother was just ten years old. Any memories of an Underslung, or any American automobile for that matter, are three generations back from me. Let’s think about that for a second, and consider just how special this Underslung is that it is still drop people’s jaws a century after it was created.
Continue reading 1914 American Underslung 642 Roadster at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance
The general package of a sharp handling, all wheel drive sedan with a healthy 300 turbocharged horsepower is still surely a very, very good thing. As an object unto itself, the new 2015 Subaru WRX STI continues to offer a fun and engaging driving experience, as it always has. The problem for me, and much of the Subaru-loving community, is that the STI has been exactly the same for over ten years now– to the point where it has gotten boring, and boring is the worst crime a car such as this can commit.
I’ve owned my 2004 Subaru STi for over seven years, and I’ve never, even once, wanted to “upgrade” to any newer STI. This is because ever since 2004 Subaru’s focus has been on softening the STI, and not making it faster, more hardcore, or better in any meaningful way. In fact, values of 2004 STIs are starting to increase now because enthusiasts have recognized the 2004 as being the pinnacle, so far, of the STIs available to us here in America.
So when I say that the new STI does nothing for me when I look at it, that poses a major problem for Subaru. I remember the excitement my 2004 STi brought me when I first got it, and I know it still brings that sort of excitement today. Whether it’s the looks or the performance, the 2015 STI cannot even come close to the level that my STi was on when it first hit US shores back in 2004. While the 04 STi was slaying the Porsche 911s, BMW M3s, Ford Mustang Cobras, and Pontiac GTOs of its day, the new STI is barely capable of out running the current V6 Toyota Camry.
Despite the old car and the new car having exactly the same sort of performance, side by side, in competition with other cars of their respective eras, the new STI is not even half the car that the 2004 STi was, and that is the big problem.
Continue reading The 2015 Subaru STI is still not living up to its name
This is the mythical “replacement for displacement” that muscle car folks always talk about, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7 that has milked 900hp out of just a 2.0L four-banger. It does with 50psi of boost from a massive turbocharger, and my oh my, will it give the driver a right old kick up the rear.
What’s more, this car is located in Panama, not a country most people would think of first when a 900hp Evo is mentioned. The Drive Network team made it down there again to shoot more awesome films for their Tuned series, hosted by Matt Farah.
Great video, great car and a surprisingly great place. Enjoy the video.
-Nick
What is it?
This is the original R-rated Volkswagen. After four generations of GTIs, VW decided that something more was needed to compete with the more serious performance cars of the world. Interestingly, the R32 was the first production car to feature a dual-clutch gearbox, although the US only received R32s equipped with manual transmissions. In total just 5000 mk4 Golf R32s were imported to US shores, making them one of the rarest cars in their range.
How’s the R32’s driving experience?
In short: fantastic, and a lot better that I had thought it would be. I’ve driven both of this car’s successors, the Mk5 R32 and the Mk6 Golf R, and I have to say that the Mk4 R32 has a certain something that its replacements do not.
Continue reading 2004 Volkswagen Mk4 Golf R32 Used Car Review
Mind Over Motor 