Is this Volkswagen Beetle Really Worth $1 million

Stored for 54 years, this 'brand new' Volkswagen Beetle might just be the most perfect example in the world.  

The Volkswagen Beetle is one of the world’s most iconic cars with its characterful shape and pop culture status. This car of the German people was originally designed to be a cheap means of getting the country moving.

Volkswagen Beetles are steadily becoming a collectors. In 1964, Rudy Zvarich bought the Beetle brand new as a ‘spare’ as he did not like the new features on the 1965 model that was about to be launched. His idea was to keep the car until his currently daily driver a 1957 model finally cried enough. The brand-new car was put into storage, waiting for its chance to hit the open road for the first time — but that time never came. Rudy Zvarich’s old 1957 Beetle kept going and the new car was forgotten about.

Rudy had a passion for using is other cars and could be seen attending many motoring shows in them. At the age of 87 in 2014 Rudy passed away. Mr Zvarich’s nephew inherited the stored Beetle, but even he was shocked to find that it had only covered 22-miles from new. Everything on the car is said to be entirely original and in perfect condition, as it had never been driven in any meaningful way, left outside, or seat sat in.

The time capsule Beetle was carefully brought up to running condition with careful attention not to disturb the originality of the car. The windscreen wipers and hubcaps had never been attached to the car and were still in their original boxes from the dealership. The black paint was a little bit dusty but as the car had never been washed before, the Leatherette interior looked like the day the car came off the assembly line. The original battery has never been activated and is still with the car as when Rudy went to collect the car he brought his own spare battery to connect and drive the car home with,

This essentially new Volkswagen Beetle should be celebrated, but how do you put a value to such a special one of a kind vehicle taking into consideration that over Nine Hundred thousand were built in 1964?

James Hunt's Mercedes Benz 560SEC Sold on Auction

Better known for his partying lifestyle and 1976 Formula 1 World Championship title, James Hunt was also an avid breeder of budgerigar birds and an owner of some great road cars. One of his cars, a 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC Coupe, has just been sold by Brightwells Auctioneers for a bargain price of £15,400. It's not often you can say you're the owner of a car formerly belonging to an F1 world champion for less than the cost of a new hatchback.

The big, V8-powered coupé attracted an encouraging amount of interest prior to the auction and was eventually sold to a telephone bidder from Germany.

The exact origins of the car aren't known, but it is believed it was a gift to Hunt, and meant Hunt joined fellow F1 stars Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell in owning a SEC model, he owned it up until 1991 - a year before his death, after which it changed hands and registration numbers several times.

Accompanying the sale is the original logbook, which displays Hunt's names, and shows that the new owner also changed the car's registration plate when he received the keys. Subsequent owners also made the decision to change the plates, including one who went back and bought the old plates for the car, and was last sold a couple of years ago.

Approximately 142,500 miles have been covered by the car since 1988, and after the mileage started to show the car was sent to Fraser Pemberton Classic Automotive for refurbishing. This included a sprucing of the paintwork to make it look showroom fresh, a replacement front windscreen and a thorough service. The full leather Mushroom colour interior was cleaned and recolored, and the complex 1980s electrics still work, including the heated seats, sunroof, steering column, outside temperature gauge.

When the gavel fell on this 560SEC, its buyer acquired a slice of British racing history at a rather good price…

Monterey Car Week and Pebble Beach Concourse dElegance 2018

By: Ian Kilburn c/0 Collectible Wheels.

Everyone imagines that when you go to Pebble you have to have a $40m-dollar Ferrari or a fully restored 1930s Rolls-Royce with unique coachwork or a special invitation because you are the “who’s who” of the Collectors Car Market. But having done it now, I realise that’s not the case. It’s rather about interesting cars on show and the thousands of enthusiast that ship, fly, trailer or just simply drive the cars to Monetery.

We flew to San Francisco and hired your normal every day car and took a leisurely 120 mile drive down the coastal road Highway 1, stopping off at the world famous big wave surfing site Mavericks just outside Half Moon Bay. Waves can routinely crest at over 25 feet (8 m) and top out at over 60 feet (18 m).The break is caused by an unusually shaped underwater rock formation. From there we made our way down to the town of Santa Cruz which is dedicated to making the World’s best Mountain bikes and Skateboard’s. We arrived in Pacific Grove on the Monterey peninsula late on Tuesday afternoon 22 August 2018, checked into our hotel which was going to be home for the next five days of pure car heaven bliss.

Monterey Car Week is literally just that A Car Week with the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance being the Grand Finale on the Sunday Afternoon where the Truly Rich and Famous and the Most Beautiful cars in the World congress on the 18th fairway. The week is also about the different marques and car clubs from all around the world that converge at different venues during the week to show their cars and hold their own individual concourses, events ect.. And not to forget the Classic Car racing at Laguna Seca. 

Early on the Thursday Morning we headed off down to Quail Lodge to get our tickets for the big day on the Sunday “we had purchased off the Pebble Beach website before we had left” and to collect a  programme of events that would be taking place during the week that we were.

Monterey County is a county located in the state of California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 3,771 square miles (9,770 km2), of which 3,281 square miles (8,500 km2) is land. Monterey Town was the capital of Alta California under both Spain and Mexico. It was the only port of entry for taxable goods into California.

As I had done a bit of research on the events happening during the week I had a more or less understanding of which events I would like to go to or participate in. A bit of advice is to get a half idea or game plan in before attending the event as there is way too much happening every day with a number of events overlapping with others, not to mention the vast area that they cover during the week. The upside is that you get to see the whole of Monterey during the week and end up visiting off the beat places that in normal circumstance you would not bother with.

The first port of call on the Thursday morning was the PEBBLE  BEACH TOUR D'ELEGANCE PRESENTED BY ROLEX 2018 in Carmel a mere 10 miles away. The Pebble Beach Tour d’Elegance presented by Rolex is an annual driving event that delights entrants and spectators alike. The traditional Tour traces portions of the original 17-Mile Drive, traverses nearby mountains and valleys, and pauses for a time in charming Carmel-by-the-Sea

We arrived minutes before the cars started arriving 295 participants in total with only three breakdowns experienced on their trip. The whole main road in Carmel was closed off to welcome the participants and their cars and was open to the public free of charge. You could walk amongst the cars once they had stopped and the drivers had got out. What got my immediate attention was the condition of the cars , every car looked like it was one of the main contenders for Sundays grand finale and in fact there were about ten vehicles that had been invited to Sundays show down with even a couple of them that had driven to Monterey from different parts of the US. The gathering was definitely one of the Most Outstanding Highlights of the Week. While we were meandering amongst the cars we met a couple of influential classic car enthusiast seen only on TV in South Africa and when they heard we were from good old sunny SA they had even more time for us. (Wayne Carini from Chasing Classics on Discovery Channel and Ryan Friedlinghaus from West Coast Customs both really down to earth guys that want to come and visit.)

As time was of the essence we decided to head up to Laguna Sec about 23 miles away in Del Rey Oaks which took us over an hour to get to as the Classic Car traffic on the road with people meandering and driving around sightseeing was hectic. Laguna Seca was hosting the ROLEX MONTEREY MOTORSPORTS REUNION with a Special touch on Nissan Motorsport who were celebrating 50 years of motor sport success in the US.

15 race groupings competed during the course of the events over the week with cars ranging in age from a 1911 National Speedway Roadster in Group 1A to a 1995 Nissan 240SX in Group 7B.Thursday the day that we were there was practice day. Racing personalities make the event as well as the cars. Late American racing legend Dan Gurney was honoured in a touching tribute on the Showcase Stage on Saturday with Sir Jackie Stewart and Chris Cord sharing stories with Smith and Donald Osborne. One of Gurney’s original Lola cars was on display throughout the event in the first two pit bays.

A general admission ticket was all we needed as it offered access to the whole circuit including the pits and the paddock. I had been earlier in the year to the Goodwood Festival of Speed so I started wondering around the pits with mixed thoughts if the cars competing were going to be of the same calibre and heritage as Goodwood. The cars were just as spectacular with the same pedigree and history but with an American feel as these were the vehicles that had participated in the US over the past 50 years or so. Cars ranged from Formula 5000 cars from the 70’s to IMSA GTU, GTO and Trans AM cars to GT Production Cars to Formula 1 cars from the 60’s and 70’s.Every car competed in the exact livery it had back in the day as well as a story board in the pits with the present owners and past drivers and owners details. A magnificent motorsport history lesson.   

Friday was going to be a busy day for us as we had planned a round trip route. First on the Agenda was to head to Monterrey Convention Centre where RM Sotheby’s were auctioning the finest collection and most expensive cars of the whole week on the Friday and Saturday evenings. Viewing of the cars cost $300 dollars and if you wanted to be part of the action and watch the auction you had to register as a bidder for $5000 dollars. We opted for the viewing and wandered around some of the most collectible and desirable cars on this planet. We stood right up with two notable cars that were going to be auctioned the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that sold for a world record auction price of $48 million US Dollars (there is rumour that a private sale happened about a year ago where one of these beauties was sold for $70 million).The next one was the 1988 Mercedes Benz AMG CLK GTR which sold for $4, 5 million dollars.

We headed off to the Werks Reunion about 12 miles down the road just past Laguna Seca Raceway which was the largest gathering of Porsche’s at Monterey Car week. This free to enter event encourage owners of all Porsche’s to put their cars on display in designated areas depending on the models of the cars. Owners could also enter the Porsche Concourse and compete to win in more than 20 prize categories. These cars were also given a designated area to display the cars. There were possibly about 500 hundred vehicles on display all in absolute impeccable condition.

After spending a couple of hours in total Porsche bliss we were onto our next venture just down the road to the Legends of the Autobahn at the prestigious Nicklaus Club. This rich venue provides the growing event with continued room to expand—and it’s so close to Laguna Seca that you can hear the historic cars warming up! As this was a new event to Monterery car week a number of clubs had joined together to make it spectacular, namely   BMW Car Club of America, the Mercedes Club of America, and the Audi Club of North America.

We got there just as prize giving was about to start which was absolutely great because it afforded us the opportunity to see all the winners collect their prizes up close as they drove their cars onto the stage and pose for photos. Some notable cars on display were a BMW E30 M3, a Genuine BMW 3,0CSL Batmobile, and a Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing.

The Saturday was all booked for a Truly Italian day with our first port of call been the  Concorso Italiano the name stating exactly what the event was  Everything Italian.  Concorso Italiano’s unique format features more than a 1000 vehicles of Italian origin, and its atmosphere is on the vehicles on display, conversations between people who love and appreciate them, and elements of Italian style such as fashion, food, music and art – all of this on the beautiful grounds of the Black Horse Golf Club. Cars were displayed on three fairways and ranged from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lancia, Alfa, DeTomasa Pantera, Maserati and believe or not Moto Guzzi who also made cars in the past albeit it been a 3 wheeler.    

I have never seen so many Lamborghini Countach or Ferrari Testarossa’s in one place and not to harp on the fact that you could eat off every single ones engines not to mention the paint or interiors. We stayed for Lunch before we headed back to Carmel by the Sea as the US Ferrari Owners Club were having a gathering in aid of charity which gave us a chance to view cars that had not been on display or entered into any of the Concourse events during the week, not to mention getting up close and chatting to the owners. The gathering finished late that evening with plenty of wine flowing   

The big day and the reason why we had come to Monterey dawned upon us way to quickly the Pebble Beach Concourse d’Elegance. The event is held on the 18th fairway of the famed Pebble Beach Golf Course. The Sunday works in a total different format to your regular car concourse held throughout the world. The Concourse is by Invitation Only and every year they choose different themes to enter and attend. There were 21 different categories for cars to compete against each ranging from Antique all the way thought to 1960’s Indianapolis 500 Revolution.

Some of the notably first time features were OSCA, Post War Citroen, Tucker and Scarab there were also some special classes for Rollston Coach Work, Eisenhower Era Dream Convertibles and the  Indianapolis 500 Revolution Entries from the 1960’s.There was also a class for the Latest Creations many of which had their World Debuts at Pebble Beach displayed on the Concept Lawn which was in fact the practice putting green.

For me to elaborate on each individual class and the history I would need to write a book so I would rather mention the experience and some notable stand out vehicles that we came across. On arrival at the main gate we were greeted with a massive display of Nissan and Datsun Cars going back to their first emergence in the USA way back when.

The first car that caught my attention was a 1972 Nissan Skyline GT-R. This Skyline was exclusive to the Japanese market and the C10 chassis was the first Skyline to ever wear the famous GT-R name plate. It was nicknamed ‘HAKOSUKA’ –which is a combination of the word Box “hako” and Skyline “suka” only 1113 were ever produced. Standing right next to the GT-R Skyline was a 1978 Subaru Brat which in effect was a 4x4 bakkie.

From here we walked down to the concept lawn where the latest of the latest futurist designed vehicles were on show , quite a couple had made their launch debuts during the week and were on the way to the production line. There was a clear mixture between Electronic Sports cars and some very fast and futuristic Super Cars on display. The latest design Porsche 911 Lightweight Singer was on display, next to it was a W Motors Fenyr Super Sport petrol eating designed car, the Electric EQ Silver Arrow Car by Mercedes Benz and a number of other special vehicles by Porsche, Audi, Ford, McLaren etc.….    

We went past the Pebble Beach Pro shop and decided to step in side to buy a golf shirt at $300 dollars a shirt we did a roundabout turn and decided to head down to the 18th fairway where all the action and people were gathered. The cars were assembled in four rows down the whole length of 17th and 18th fairways taking into account that each fairway is about 450 meters long you can imagine the number of vehicles, owners, supporters and spectators. We had to keep an eye on the time as the Prize Giving was starting at 13H30 and we definitely wanted to get a place close to the podium to view all the class winners and the Overall Winner at the end of the day. We only managed two rows before we decided to head back to the main staging area to watch the proceedings. It was like a gigantic garden party with picnic chairs, blankets, picnic baskets and Champagne flowing everywhere you looked.

As there were 21 classes with a first, second and third in each class the proceeding were pretty drawn out as every vehicle that placed and won was called up onto the stage to receive their prizes. Finally the big moment had arrived.

There is no higher honour than landing Best of Show, and for 2018, the winning car was this 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta. This glorious fixed-roof coupe was originally revealed at the 1937 Milan auto show and later exhibited at the 1938 Berlin auto show. With an extremely tapered rear, this 8C represents a more aerodynamic take on the relatively ubiquitous 8C chassis, and it lacks running boards and has a laid-down grille. As awarded, the Alfa Romeo is specified to its 1938 Berlin show particulars, having been restored in the 1990s. The Alfa Romeo won its class before competing for Best of Show, and took home two other awards: Charles A. Chayne Trophy and J. B. and Dorothy Nethercutt Most Elegant Closed Car.

There were many contenders for Best of Show at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. In the final circle, the winning 8C Alfa Romeo was joined by a 1929 Duesenberg J Murphy Town Limousine owned by the Lehrman Collection of Palm Beach, Florida and a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Figoni Fastback Coupé owned by Robert Kudela of Chropyne, Czech Republic which was my favourite to win as we had seen it a couple of days earlier on the 17 mile drive to Carmel by the Sea, an absolute exquisite car.

The Concours d'Elegance at Pebble Beach is widely considered to be the most prestigious event of its kind in the world. There are a number of other events such as Amelia Island in Florida, Villa d’Este in Lake Coma, Greenwich in Connecticut, Salon Prive’ in London however Pebble Beach definitely stand out at the top. It should be on every Car enthusiast bucket list, it offers something new, something old, something Classic, Something futuristic and something antique.

Concourse South Africa 2018

Concours South Africa has announced that for the first time, an international classic car auction will be held in South Africa.

Billed as 'the biggest-ever auction of classic cars in Africa', it is taking place in association with Concours SA, an event in its third year, which draws over 100 cars from across the south of the continent.

The event will be hosted by Coys of London on 11 August at Steyn City in Johannesburg, and will be headlined by 50 cars from The Plit Portfolio, Concours South Africa said.

In addition to The Plit Portfolio a number other classics will be auctioned, including a rare Maserati Khamsin AM120 prototype – of which only five were built.

. "I have worked in Africa now for many, many years developing close associations with historic South African car culture; it is in my bones and in my veins," said Chris Routledge, managing director of Coys. "I am so excited that we are doing this and that the time is now."

“The Coys catalog that is in preparation right now will be distributed electronically to 25,000 of their clients internationally and there will be international on-line bidding from enthusiasts all over the world, on the night, as well as bidding on the floor at Steyn City”.

3 Rare cars you can expect to see at South Africa’s first major international classic car auction

Fox & Nicholl Singer Le Mans 2-litre Special (1935)

This car is one of only three Singer cars ever built by the famous Fox & Nicholl Race Car Company who were also responsible for the construction of the 1933 Lagonda LG45R.

A similar Fox & Nicholl LG45RT was sold at the 2014 Bonham’s Goodwood Revival auction for R28 million.

The three Fox & Nicholl Singer Le Mans cars had body numbers LM11, LM12 and LM13. This is LM11 and is evidently the only surviving car.

Apparently, LM11 raced at the 1934 Le Mans and in various major UK events, until being brought to South Africa in 1938 by an RAF aircraft rigger on contract to the SAAF, to re-rig the SAAF Glouster Javelin bi-planes.

The Singer LM11 was then sold to a local Singer expert in 1965 and subsequently in 2007 a collector in Cape Town, prior to being incorporated into the Plit Portfolio.

Jaguar XK120 (1950)

This is the oldest known Jaguar XK120 in South Africa, finished in a off-white colour with red interior.

This particular car features in the book “The Jaguar XK120” by John Elmgreen and Terry McGrath.

The chassis was completed in 1950 and delivered to a Mrs Catherine Elaine Reid-Walker in Staffordshire in the UK.

It was then exported to South Africa by Mr Reid-Walker who was a Scottish businessman on a six-month tour in our country.

It was tested by a reporter from The Sunday Express and a picture of this car appeared in that paper on 11 February 1951.

The car then left South Africa in May 1951 and returned to England where it competed in the ninth Scottish Rally, still sporting its South African plates, and where it finished third overall.

The car eventually returned to South Africa and it appeared at the Motoring Memories event at the then-new Carlton Exhibition Centre in Johannesburg in the 1970s.

Porsche 964 RS N-GT (1990)

This is an extremely-focused racing car with a bare-metal interior, strengthened and seam-welded shell, alloy front boot lid, thinner glass, and FIA welded-in roll cage.

It sports Recaro race seats covered in flame-retardant Nomex, a Schroth race harness, plumbed-in fire extinguisher and an on-board cut-off switch. It also just happens to be road legal.

It was brought to South Africa by Bruce Joelson, who was famous at the time for heading up Elna Sewing Machines in this country, and sponsoring SA Superbike champ Dave Petersen.

This car may be one of only 290 similar examples produced by the factory for racing homologation purposes, but it is the only one with this level of factory specification.

Five Rapidly Appreciating Cars from the Class of 1992

The experts at ClassicCars.com have identified five vehicles from the 1992 model year that represent great investments.

The experts at ClassicCars.com have identified five vehicles from the 1992 model year that represent great investments—especially for nostalgic-minded enthusiasts looking for something special to drive to their 25th reunion.

“Representing a broad spectrum of domestic and import makes and models, this list identifies cars that are showing significant signs of appreciation on the market,” said Andy Reid, ClassicCars.com’s East Coast editor and analyst. “These cars represent a new segment of the collector car hobby, which emphasizes models from the ’80s and ’90s.

1992 Acura NSX—A landmark car when introduced, the NSX was the first sensible supercar to offer all the glitz and glamour of an exotic with Honda reliability. Only 7421 were made for U.S. buyers over the eight-year lifespan of this first-generation model. With availability limited, demand continues to grow

1992 BMW M3—Universally hailed as one of the best BMW’s ever built, it’s basically the Swiss army knife of cars, available as a convertible, sedan or coupe, an option for every taste. The M3 also boasts a well-documented heritage as a race car. The first-generation M3 delivered everything it promised, and more. Models from 1992—especially those with low mileage—are extremely valuable

1992 Dodge Viper—The brainchild of Bob Lutz with input from Carrol Shelby, the Viper is a modern-day Cobra, the kind of car we’ll never see again. Only 285 Vipers were built in 1992, the year this supercar made its debut. This is the model year that true collectors want, but availability is scarce

1992 Porsche 968—The final version of the Porsche 924/944 platform, this reengineered ’92 model was the first to be completely built by Porsche, with no input from Audi. Total North American production that year was limited to 1,440 units. Very few are available, and low-mileage ones are almost impossible to find

1992 Toyota MR2—The 1992 MR2 has gone up in price because good examples of low-mileage cars are scarce. We’ve seen a resurgence in demand for Japanese cars, and this is one of those that is extremely sought after.

“With the exception of the Viper, all offer niceties of a modern car but all the nostalgia of a classic,” Reid said. “This new generation of collectors love driving these cars. Accordingly, these five are as usable as they are collectible.”

Historic Liveries will Line Porsche 911 RSR Race Cars at Le Mans 2018

BY:Motor Authority 

Porsche is melding old and new school at the upcoming 2018 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The German automaker is diving headfirst into its heritage pool and its pulled out two great color schemes. The famed Pink Pig and Rothmans' liveries will be on full display, and they'll be wrapped around the bodies of a pair of Porsche 911 RSR race cars. This is Porsche's future shaking hands with a bit of its glorious past.

First we need a bit of a history lesson. The Pink Pig is a moniker initially applied to a monster race car from 1971. A one-off Porsche 917/20, the Pink Pig featured wide bodywork and a short snout. Thus Porsche designer Anatole Lapine coined its name and applied a pink paint scheme. This pink paint was joined by a butcher's outline of sorts that highlighted the various cuts on a pig.

With the Rothmans car, Porsche isn't the only automaker to don the blue, white, and red colors. Rothmans was a European tobacco brand that clearly loved playing in the motorsport space. The iconic colorway was found in rally racing, Formula 1, and endurance racing. Porsche wore the Rothmans colors on its rally cars but also on its 956 Group C prototype race cars.

Now it's 2018 and Porsche has a fresh batch of race cars with which it plans to take on the world. The new 911 RSR was unveiled back in 2016 and it showed that Porsche were willing to evolve their classic design into something more befitting of the race track. Specifically, we're talking about moving the engine from the tail into a position closer to the middle of the car. This is a lightweight, heavily focused, all-out race car competing in endurance racing events the world over.

Under the 911 road-car like skin sits a 4.0-liter flat six-cylinder capable of producing around 510 horsepower. You operate the car through a paddle-shifted six-speed sequential transmission and send power to the rear wheels. It's light. It's fast. It's designed to win.

Ferrari 250 GTO Sells for Record Breaking $70 million

WILL BEAUMONT

One of the finest examples of the most desirable of Ferraris has changed hands for $70million

A Ferrari 250 GTO has sold privately for a rumoured $70million (£52million) making it the most expensive car to ever be sold. The car that now holds this world record is chassis number 4153GT – a silver GTO built in 1963.

Any Ferrari 250 GTO is a rare and special car – that’s why the most expensive car sold at auction is also a Ferrari 250 GTO – but this one boasts a specification and history very few of the 39 250 GTOs can compete with. Firstly, it is one of the earlier and prettier Series I cars, rather than having the Series II bodywork reminiscent of the 250 LM.

The 250 GTO is known as the Holy Grail model for its looks, rarity and smoothness on the road.

It is also one of the few 250 GTOs not to be painted red. Instead, it’s finished in silver with a yellow stripe running perpendicular across the bonnet, the livery of Belgium team Ecurie Francorchamps.

As well as being cosmetically desirable, this GTO also has its original engine, rather than a replacement from another 250 Ferrari, and has never been crashed. However, it was restored back in the 1990s and has, more recently, been certified by Ferrari Classiche.

The 250 GTO’s range of abilities – that it was able to compete competitively on circuits as well as on the many road rallies and hill climbs that took place in the 1960s – is demonstrated by this car’s impressive history.

Not only did this GTO race at Le Mans in ’63 (finishing fourth overall) and in the Spa 500km Grand Prix in ’64 (where it finished sixth overall), chassis 4153GT also won the 1964 Tour De France and then came third (and first in class) in the Mont Ventoux hill climb.

The new owner of this 250 GTO is David MacNeil, CEO of WeatherTech – a car floor mat manufacturer and the current title sponsor of the IMSA championship. MacNeil purchased the car from Christian Glaesel, a German classic car collector and historic racer.

David MacNeil.

Ferrari historian Marcel Massini said he expects a GTO to fetch $100million (£75million) within five years.

Pebble Beach Concourse will Feature Citroen for the First Time.

Chapron cabriolets will headline French marque's turn in the spotlight

For the first time in its long history Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance will spotlight Citroen as its featured marque with a display of rare coach built cars.

When talk turns to coach built Citroens the name Chapron pops up first; this coachbuilder was responsible not only for the "factory" DS cabriolet, but also a stunning variety of other DS sedans and cabriolets, many of them quite subtle to the uninitiated. While Chapron was by no means the only major Citroen coachbuilder -- let's not forget Heuliez -- it will be cars reworked by Chapron that will take centre stage on the 18th fairway later this year. The concours organizers have just released an early sketch of the official poster for the concours, with three Chaprons appearing on the artwork.

The concours' official poster for 2018, by artist Barry Rowe, will slowly transform from a sketch to a painting over the course of the summer. PHOTO BY BARRY ROWE

"At the forefront of the poster is the two-tone blue 1966 Citroën DS 21 Chapron Le Léman Coupé, one of roughly 24 produced," the concours organizers write. "This very car (chassis no. 4350020) graced the stage at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show and represents the pinnacle of Citroën custom coachwork. The green 1967 DS 21 Chapron Cabriolet d'Usine was transformed to convertible specification straight from the factory while the Yellow DS 19 exemplifies the essence of the original DS saloon. All three of these Citroëns have been fully restored by renowned Citroën expert Vincent Crescia, who currently operates out of the very building that housed his father's Citroën dealership."

Citreon Traction Avant

Citreon SM

Aside from the DS and its myriad versions, there will be a selection of other "greatest hits" by this French marque, with the Traction Avant, SM, GS, 2CV and CX being the usual suspects. There's no shortage of notable Citroens in California, however the general consensus is that Citroens from all over the U.S. and Europe will be in attendance, and we wouldn't rule out much later examples like the BX.  

Citreon GS

"Interest in Citroën among collectors has seen exponential growth in recent years, and the Concours is pleased to showcase custom coachwork Citroëns that offer the best of French technology and design,” said Concours Chairman Sandra Button.

Citreon 2CV

Citreon CX

Citreon BX

Simola Classic Car Friday

Yet before all the modern machine guns fired their ammo on Saturday and Sunday, fans were treated to a huge assortment of older weaponry, with classic cars headlining Friday’s proceedings.

This was the fifth running of Classic Car Friday with the biggest turnout of the exciting and Collectible Vehicles. There were 32 marques of motoring history present representing half a century of motorsport magic.

Fastest man on the day was Franco Scribante in a 1970 Chevron B19, who managed 42.491s in the class finals (albeit slightly slower than his practice time of 41.615s), but still a fair margin over second-placed Ian Schofield, who posted a time of 45.433s in his 1977 March 77B.Third Place went to Peter Jenkins in his Chevron.

Classic Car Friday was also very much about admiring beauty, with onlookers getting to view many classic road cars in action, among them Peter Kaye-Eddie’s 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, Peter Lindenberg’s 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 and a pair of gorgeous Jaguar E-Types in the form of Ron Hollis’ 1966 4.2 - which won class H2 - and a 1972 Series 3 V12 (above), driven to second in Class H3 by Patrick Gearing.

This said the Friday was definitely a highlight for us at Collectible Wheels with the preparations and pit crews taking the racing just as series as the spectacular show the next day. A number of the Classic Cars would have made the finals the following days as well with the times achieved.

Avid car collector Brian Bruce received Friday’s Spirit of Dave Charlton award after competing for the fifth time in his 1965 Ford GT40, while Willie Hepburn bagged the equivalent King of the Hill trophy on Sunday.

Simola Hill Climb 2018

The 2018 Jaguar Simola Hillclimb delivered an enthralling mix of thrills and excitement, with some stunning new records being set on the Simola Hill – both amongst the competitors’ times, as well as the number of spectators attending the three-day event.

When the action drew to a close on Sunday, all-new King of the Hill records had been established in each of the three categories, but the times between many of the top contenders were closer than ever, which kept the fans on their toes right to the end of the nail-biting programme.

3 distinct titles

There are three distinct King of the Hill titles, namely for road-going saloon cars and supercars (class A), modified saloon cars (class B), and single seater and sports cars (class C). Nissan competed in both class A and class B with different versions of the R35 Nissan GT-R and with the NISMO LEAF Racing Car.

Single Seaters and Sportscars

Andre Bezuidenhout was the undisputed King of the Hill at the 2017 edition of the Jaguar Simola Hillclimb in his 1989 Dallara F189 Formula 1 car, and his aim for the 2018 event was to go even quicker in the recently acquired Gould GR55 – a specialist Hillclimb single-seater built in the UK with much-improved aerodynamics and a paddle-shift transmission.

Bezuidenhout established a new official Hillclimb record during the one-lap Class Finals with an impressive time of 36.428 seconds. If that wasn’t remarkable enough, he absolutely destroyed the current lap record with an all-new time of 35.528 seconds in the King of the Hill Top 10 Shootout.

“I felt confident throughout the weekend that a 35-second time was possible but was slightly worried when the temperature dropped in the late afternoon for the final run,” Bezuidenhout said. “The Gould is an amazing car, and the team I had supporting me was superb.

Robert Wolk was another prominent presence throughout the two days of racing, competing this time in a Ferrari V8-powered A1 GP car. He put in a solid effort to both learn the new car and give it his all, and finished second with a best time of 37.691 seconds during the Top 10 Shootout.

The final podium slot went to Garth de Villiers, driving a Formula VW, with a time of 42.013 seconds.

Modified Saloon Cars

In Class B for modified saloon cars and supercars, Wilhelm Baard was the fastest man up the hill. He raced his GT-R to a final time of 39.463 seconds, which is the fastest time ever achieved by a saloon car in this prestigious competition. In doing so, he broke his own record of 39.892 seconds, which he set in 2017.

Heading into the Class Final, Dawie Joubert held the qualifying advantage, having dipped under the 40-second barrier with a time of 39.984 seconds, with Baard breathing down his neck a mere hundredth of a second adrift and the next three rivals, comprising Charl Joubert, Di Matteo and Van Zummeren, all under 41 seconds.

In the mid-pack it was Cronje that laid down the gauntlet with a time of 40.973 seconds, which was immediately beaten by Van Zummeren and Di Matteo. Charl Joubert was up next and he notched up an impressive 39.519 second run.

It was a nail-biting affair and Dawie Joubert completed the final run of the three-day Jaguar Simola Hill climb event, eventually ending on 40.025 seconds to claim third behind his brother Charl, with the King of the Hill title ultimately remaining in the hands of an elated Baard who set a new record time of 39.463 seconds.

Road-going Saloon Cars and Supercars

Reghard Roets earned his second King of the Hill title in a row with another exceptional performance in the mighty street-legal Nissan GT-R, having set the pace throughout the weekend. As the lone GT-R in the category, he raised the bar even further after he beat his current Hill climb record for standard road cars by 0.135 sec, bettering last year’s result during the Class Finals with a time of 44.631 seconds.

The Top 10 Shootout for the King of the Hill title became a thrilling three-way tussle at the top, with Olivier blasting his way to his best time of the weekend of 44.967 seconds, a time that Izak Spies wasn’t able to beat in his McLaren after recording a run of 45.784 seconds.

This gave the Jaguar driver second place on the final podium with Spies taking the third-placed slot ahead.

 Spirit of Dave Charlton Award

Few names are better known in South African motorsport circles than Willie Hepburn – a man that has become synonymous with racing thundering V8 machines over the years in the WesBank V8 series.

He has been a regular and popular competitor at the Jaguar Simola Hill climb in his iconic 7.0- litre Chevrolet V8-powered Opel Record – a car that he still drives and maintains at an age of 76.

For his dedication to the sport and professionalism, Hepburn earned the Spirit of Dave Charlton floating trophy for the 2018 King of the Hill, which recognizes the person that reflects South African race legend Dave Charlton’s spirit of impeccable attention to detail, meticulous preparation and commendable performance.