Ferrari F40 Burns to the ground in Italy

A Ferrari F40 ended up as nothing but a pile of ashes and some charred metal after the car caught fire.

The F40 was part of a cavalcade of Ferraris passing near Villanova d’Albenga, Italy when the fire broke out. The incident happened early last month.

The car is believed to be an uber-rare F40 prototype first shown at the 1987 Frankfurt auto show and later converted into an F40 GT race car by Italian engineering outfit Michelotto. The chassis number for this prototype-turned-racer is ZFFGJ34B000074047, and the last time the car was sold was during an auction in 2012.

GT Spirit suspects that the owner might be Jon Hunt. The British billionaire is alleged to have been on his way to Maranello, Italy to pick up a LaFerrari Aperta when the fire broke out. Some readers will recall that Hunt in 2014 took a trip to Maranello to pick up a LaFerrari driving in a cavalcade of rare Ferraris that included an F40 as well as a 288 GTO, F50 and Enzo.

Incredibly, it’s believed that Hunt might also have been the owner of a Lamborghini Miura SV that burned to the ground in London in 2013.

As for the F40, if it’s ever rebuilt the only thing original will be the VIN. The same is likely true for the F40 that burned to the ground last year.

Picture Courteous of I.V.I.G Media

Rare Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Sells at Auction for a staggering 1,7 Million Pounds

About a a week ago, I mentioned the 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 that was heading to auction with only 6 miles on the clock. The car finally crossed the auction block and it sold for a mind-blowing £1.7 million - the most amount ever paid for a 964 RSR.

The 964-series Porsche 911 Carrera RSR is already an exceptionally rare and desirable classic, but this particular car takes that to a different league. 

Just 51 RSRs were built, but not many will be in such incredible condition. This particular model was ordered in 1993 and after being delivered was placed into a private collection where it sat for 25 years not being driven once.

A 1993 Porsche 964 Carrera RSR was undoubtedly the shining star of the recent RM Sotheby’s auction, despite actually being the least shiny thing there.

I think the saddest thing that could happen to this fantastic car would be for the new buyer to put it in storage for another two and a half decades in hopes of turning an even bigger profit. I hope it gets tuned up and driven balls out at the race track.

Though it fetched a new record, the Carrera didn’t top the auction sales. A 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C SS sold for €3,360,000 , and a 1935 Bugatti Type 57 prototype picked up €3,024,000.

Incredibly Rare , Never Driven 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3,8 Never Driven With 10 km on the Clock For Sale

Here’s a remarkable find – a brand-new 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR. The race-ready 911 RSR is one of the rarest 964 variants in existence.

RM Sotheby’s has a 1993 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.8 that, in their words, is “unused”. And, judging by the untouched dusty and dirty body, it looks more than just unused – it looks forgotten. In fact, it’s only been driven six miles… ever.

“You contact Porsche, and with considerable means, special order such a 911 to your own unique specifications,” waxes RM Sotheby’s description. “However, once delivered and with only 6 miles recorded, this limited-production 911 (just 51 were built) vanishes into a private collection, where it remains untouched and never driven for almost 25 years, still covered with its factory-applied Cosmoline coating.”

The wax is usually applied to protect the car during transportation and storage before it is ever used, but in this case it has attracted dust from its 25 years in storage – which explains the unusual appearance.

The RSR was essentially a track day special similar to what a GT3 RS would be today. While this Carrera does wear a Turbo body, a naturally aspirated 3.8-liter engine actually powers the RSR. Horsepower was underrated at the time at 350, with 375 hp being the more likely output, according to auction company RM Sotheby’s. Torque measured 284 lb-ft. The RSR 3.8 could hit 60 mph is 3.7 seconds, quicker than a Ferrari F40.

This particular Porsche was ordered with a fully furnished, and fully red, interior that sets it apart from the standard RSRs that were pretty spartan on the inside.

Low miles likely means a high price. It’s being auctioned at the RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba event in Italy on May 27th, where it’s expected to sell for well over $2 million.

Holy Grail VW Find : Split Window Beetle Collection & More !

Over the weekend, a post began circulating on Facebook showing the rears of a group of dusty split-window VW Beetles. Then, more pictures began to appear showing what appeared to be a Porsche Speedster, followed by a pair of BMW 328 roadsters from the 1930s! Further scrambling and investigation found a post on Samba which seems to verify that a mother lode of collectible vehicles are resting in Kansas, waiting for exhumation following the owner’s death.

The photos are all either poor quality or pictures of pictures, such as this one showing the highly desirable BMW 328s. I have only seen these in hardcover books. I might have spotted one in BMW’s museum. Suffice to say, two of them in project-car condition does not happen every day, or even every ten years. All of the vehicles are stored in a Quonset hut and are quite dusty.

The trademark low-cut windshield is a dead giveaway that this is Speedster and rumours are circulating that it has already been sold. Nothing seems certain about this find until it’s either with an auctioneer or the collection simply sells privately, as the current overseer of the cars is the owner of a well-known VW shop in New Mexico. For all we know, the cars have already been paid for.

What’s even more intriguing is that the deceased owner, who left no heirs, also had an eye for collectible cars beyond his preferred VWs. There is a desirable Ford “Deuce” coupe in the foreground, and a variety of other bodies and parts. There are rumours of a motherlode of OEM and NOS VW parts. If the parts are from the same era as the split windows, you can be sure there are some highly desirable components locked away.

There are numerous other cars in the photos, including this early Bus. It seems like the sale was put on hold for years after the lawyers got involved, and I’m not sure who technically now owns the collection. Did it go the state? Or did the owner have siblings who knew of his prized possessions? Either way, there looks to be a fair amount of money on the table. Although some commenters think the split windows aren’t worth as much because they are lacking engines, I’m sure some of them will find their way overseas.

Photos of the Beetles, 356, and the ’32s courtesy of Adam Blickhahn! Special thanks to Adam for sharing more photos with us!
 

60 Years of Mercedes Benz 300SL Roadster

By : Sports Car Digest

The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (W 198) made its premiere 60 years ago at the Geneva Motor Show from 14 to 24 March 1957. The open-top sports car superseded the successful “gullwing” 300 SL Coupe, which was built from 1954. The North American market in particular provided considerable impetus for an open-top version of the 300 SL. In technical terms the roadster differed from the coupe in numerous details, the latter being derived from the 300 SL racing car.

Readers of the North American “Colliers Magazine” were the first to hear about the new Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster 60 years ago. For the Stuttgart brand gave top photographer David Douglas Duncan the opportunity to showcase a pre-series roadster for the October issue of the magazine in 1956. It was a media coup, and a well-considered one. Because in the United States demand for an open-top variant of the 300 SL was very high.

The North American market was an important one for the segment of luxurious sports cars: since 1954 Mercedes-Benz had already exported a large proportion of its coupes to North America, a good 800 of a total of 1400 vehicles built. Duncan, who had himself driven a 300 SL “gullwing” for years, shot the roadster from the W 198 model series on the Stelvio Pass and also at the main Mercedes-Benz factory in Sindelfingen for the photo spread. The final series version was then unveiled by Mercedes-Benz in March 1957 at the Geneva Motor Show. By 1963 a total of 1858 units of the roadster were built, and from 1958 it was also available with a hardtop.

The publication “Motor Revue” wrote of the new sports car: “Where the engine and driving characteristics are concerned the 300 SL Roadster is a masterstroke.” The magazine characterised the sports car as “a touring vehicle for two people, featuring superior performance and road holding”. It was not just the specialist press that was impressed by the open-top version of the “gullwing” coupe. Media such as the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” reported on the premiere of the “300 SL Roadster from Mercedes-Benz with no end of noteworthy improvements” (issue dated 21 March 1957).

Roadster Tradition from Motor Racing

In 1952, the Stuttgart brand’s first motorsport season since the end of the Second World War, the SL drove home some brilliant successes. This is why the series version, the 300 SL “gullwing” (W 198) was derived from it, and presented by Mercedes-Benz in February 1954 in New York at the International Motor Sports Show together with the prototype of the 190 SL (W 121).

It soon became clear that the market was also very interested in an open-top version of the high-performance sports car. So on 20 February 1954 the Head of Body Testing in Sindelfingen, Karl Wilfert, demanded the development of a 300 SL Roadster as a sample car. Friedrich Geiger, the first Head of the Design Department in Sindelfingen, back then referred to as Stylistics, presented the first drafts on 5 May 1954. Later Geiger then also developed the matching hardtop, which took on the silhouette of the coupe.

Green Light for the Roadster

On 2 June 1954 the Board of Management gave the green light for building two test cars and one presentation car. In November 1954 series production of the vehicle was put back for the time being. On 26 July 1955 the Board then made its decision: “The decision has been taken to build the 300 SL Roadster with an attachable coupe roof and where necessary to take on extra staff for this”, is how the Board meeting’s minutes recorded it.

Developing the coupe into the roadster was associated with some technical modifications. In particular the engineers had to change the space frame. Due to its high design on the flanks this had once called for the characteristic gullwing doors of the coupe. The frame was now lavishly redesigned on both sides in order to make classic doors possible without any change in the high torsional stiffness. Modifications were also made at the rear of the frame. On the one hand this created space to install the single-joint swing axle with compensating springs, on the other hand for a practical boot. Lastly, in the tradition of the luxurious Mercedes-Benz 300 S, the roadster was intended to fulfil the role of a sporty touring car much more effectively than the coupe. The changes led to an increase in the vehicle weight of around 120 kilograms.

The roadster’s handling was impressive. A test report by Mercedes-Benz engineer Erich Waxenberger stated: “The 300 SL Roadster with a single-joint rear axle and compensating springs boasts better road holding with sports springs and dampers than the 300 SL coupe with a twin-joint rear axle. The strong tendency to oversteer has been changed to slight understeering, so this vehicle can safely be driven to its limits within a short space of time. According to Mr [Rudolf] Uhlenhaut and Mr [Karl] Kling the 300 SL Roadster lies somewhere between the Grand Prix racing cars and the 300 SLR where road holding is concerned.” There could hardly have been a better report for the sports car from the fathers of the Silver Arrows. In March 1961 the chassis was further improved with the introduction of disc brakes on all four wheels.

Initially the engineers adopted the engine from the coupe without changing it. The three-litre six-cylinder M 198 in-line engine featuring petrol injection and an output of 158 kW (215 hp) had a grey-cast-iron block. It was replaced in spring 1962 by a 44 kilogram lighter aluminium cylinder block.

Apart from the omitted roof, various details of the roadster’s design also differed from that of the coupe: the open-top sports car has vertical lamp units at the front. These contain the headlamps, fog lamps and indicators under the same lens. In the years that followed, this element would shape the appearance of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars. A soft top, developed by Friedrich Geiger, was necessary due to the construction. It was easy to operate and at the time was the fastest soft top to open and close by hand. After opening it was concealed beneath a sheet metal cover. Eighteen months after the market launch of the roadster, a hardtop which had been planned from the outset became available.

Sportiness in the Genes

The tradition of the sporty Mercedes-Benz SL started in 1952 with the 300 SL racing car (W 194) was systematically continued by the 300 SL Roadster: two vehicles known as the 300 SLS were created for the 1957 season on the basis of the open-top sports car, for entering the North American Sports Car Championship. The specially produced models were 337 kilograms lighter respectively than the series version and had an uprated engine with 173 kW (235 hp). Paul O’S hea, who had already won the championship in category D with the “gullwing” in 1955 and 1956, took the title for the third time in succession with the 300 SLS. In the early 1960s Eberhard Mahle and Gunther Philipp entered sports car races in 300 SL Roadsters.

The series version, which was available in various transmission configurations, also demonstrated sporty performance. In November 1958 a 300 SL Roadster with the longest available ratio of i=3.25 achieved an average speed of 242.5 km/h on the Munich-Ingolstadt motorway with a racing windshield and covered co-driver’s seat. The time was measured by the Main Sports Department of the German automobile club the ADAC. On 8 February 1963 the last of 1858 300 SL Roadsters built left the assembly line in the Sindelfingen plant. Today the 300 SL Roadster is one of the most sought-after and valuable Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Cars which are kept in top condition and are above all original achieve market prices significantly north of a million euros. This market situation reflects the popularity and at the same time the rarity of the 300 SL Roadster. Nevertheless, ALL TIME STARS, the Mercedes-Benz Museum’s marketplace, does have outstanding specimens to offer from time to time. An alternative is factory restoration of an existing 300 SL Roadster by Mercedes-

Sportiness in the Genes

The tradition of the sporty Mercedes-Benz SL started in 1952 with the 300 SL racing car (W 194) was systematically continued by the 300 SL Roadster: two vehicles known as the 300 SLS were created for the 1957 season on the basis of the open-top sports car, for entering the North American Sports Car Championship. The specially produced models were 337 kilograms lighter respectively than the series version and had an uprated engine with 173 kW (235 hp). Paul O’S hea, who had already won the championship in category D with the “gullwing” in 1955 and 1956, took the title for the third time in succession with the 300 SLS. In the early 1960s Eberhard Mahle and Gunther Philipp entered sports car races in 300 SL Roadsters.

The series version, which was available in various transmission configurations, also demonstrated sporty performance. In November 1958 a 300 SL Roadster with the longest available ratio of i=3.25 achieved an average speed of 242.5 km/h on the Munich-Ingolstadt motorway with a racing windshield and covered co-driver’s seat. The time was measured by the Main Sports Department of the German automobile club the ADAC. On 8 February 1963 the last of 1858 300 SL Roadsters built left the assembly line in the Sindelfingen plant. Today the 300 SL Roadster is one of the most sought-after and valuable Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Cars which are kept in top condition and are above all original achieve market prices significantly north of a million euros. This market situation reflects the popularity and at the same time the rarity of the 300 SL Roadster. Nevertheless, ALL TIME STARS, the Mercedes-Benz Museum’s marketplace, does have outstanding specimens to offer from time to time. An alternative is factory restoration of an existing 300 SL Roadster by Mercedes.