ON THE TABLE

August 22, 2012

(Image copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photo by Mike Maez.)
Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, auctioned an impressive group of classic cars over the weekend, including Lot 49, a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione that sold for $11,275,000, setting a world record for a LWB California Spider. The car was part of the Sherman M. Wolf Collection of four extraordinary Ferrari models, resulting in a total of more than $21.5 million. Twelve vehicles sold From the William A.C. Pettit III Collection, realizing more than $4 million total. As desired by the late collector, estate proceeds will benefit the Shriners Hospital for Children®–Tampa, which leads the way in innovative pediatric specialty care. The top-selling lot of the collection was the legendary “Blue J,” a 1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton that sold for $1,980,000.

Gooding & Company’s Top 10 results from Saturday, August 18, 2012:

·         1960 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione; $11,275,000 (lot 49)

·         1928 Bentley 4 1/2 Litre Le Mans Sports "Bobtail”; $6,050,000 (lot 20)

·         1953 Ferrari 340 MM Spider; $4,730,000 (lot 50)

·         1957 Ferrari 500 TRC; $4,510,000 (lot 51)

·         1953 Jaguar C-Type; $3,725,000 (lot 37)

·         1960 Porsche RS60; $3,465,000 (lot 28)

·         1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupe Aerodinamico; $2,365,000 (lot 34)

·         1929 Duesenberg Model J Dual Cowl Phaeton – "Blue J"; $1,980,000 (lot 12)

·         1955 Maserati A6G/2000 Berlinetta; $1,650,000 (lot 23)

·         1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster; $1,595,000 (lot 66)

(Ford)
Friends of Carroll Shelby, including Ford Motor Company, Shelby American, Ford Racing and many others have built a unique 2013 Shelby GT500 Cobra as a tribute to the late Carroll Shelby. The unique tribute car was unveiled by Ford Motor Company board member Edsel Ford II, Ford’s group vice president for sales and marketing Jim Farley, and Shelby American president John Luft at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion where Cobra is the marque of show for 2012. “Even at 89 years of age, Carroll was an inspiration to us all,” says Farley. “This year marks the 50th anniversary of the original Shelby Cobra. The one-off car we have created represents the very idea he had about making the 2013 Shelby GT500 into a true Cobra.” Using the 662-horsepower 2013 Shelby GT500 as a foundation, “Friends of Carroll” created the one-of-a-kind 2013 Shelby GT500 Cobra wide-body Mustang that now generates more than 850 horsepower with a Ford Racing 4.0-liter Whipple supercharger. Ford Motor Company teamed up with Shelby American for several key components on the Carroll Shelby tribute car. Shelby American provided a specially designed hood, new rear wide-body kit, Shelby Wilwood brakes and new 20x13-inch rear and 20x10-inch front wheels with massive 345-section high-performance tires for extra grip. The bodywork is finished in the same Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White stripes that graced so many of the Cobra roadsters built in the 1960s. Ford product development engineers now will get a daily reminder of Carroll’s way as they traverse the newly renamed Carroll Shelby Way through the heart of the Product Development Center in Dearborn, Mich., to the entrance of the proving ground. “Sadly, Carroll Shelby is no longer with us, but his spirit lives on with the designers and engineers he interacted with over the years and he will continue to influence Ford performance cars for many years to come,” says Farley.

(Ford)
Ford has revealed that its all-new 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid delivers an EPA-certified 47 mpg city and 47 mpg highway (7 mpg better than Toyota Prius v on the highway) for, ironically enough, a 47 mpg combined rating. Ford says that the C-MAX Hybrid twill offer a “real car” range at 570 miles on one tank of gas, capable of taking customers from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back on one tank, beating the Toyota Prius v by 120 miles. Ford also expects the C-MAX Hybrid to be America’s most affordable hybrid utility vehicle with a base price of $25,995, including destination and delivery, which is $1,300 lower than Toyota Prius v. C-MAX Hybrid is currently available for order at Ford dealers nationwide.

(Images courtesy of McLaren Automotive)
McLaren Special Operations (MSO), the division of McLaren Automotive responsible for the delivery of bespoke projects, presented a stunning one-off supercar at The Quail, on August 17, 2012. Called the McLaren X-1 and based structurally on the company’s groundbreaking carbon MonoCell but with a totally unique body, it has been created for an anonymous car enthusiast. "One of our clients who already owned a McLaren F1, a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and now a 12C, wanted a unique car," says MSO Program Director, Paul MacKenzie. "The conversation began with our Executive Chairman Ron Dennis almost three years ago − before the 12C was even launched. The client wanted a machine that had all the capability of the 12C but wrapped in a unique body that reflected his needs and personality." Says Frank Stephenson: "The key qualities the client desired were 'timeless and classical elegance'.  Which was some challenge." Inspirational cars included a 1961 Facel Vega, a 1953 Chrysler D’Elegance Ghia, a 1959 Buick Electra, a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K and a 1971 Citroën SM. There were various examples of architecture – including the Guggenheim museums in New York and Bilbao – plus a Jaeger LeCoultre art deco clock, an Airstream trailer, a Thomas Mann Montblanc pen, a grand piano – and an eggplant. The client liked the shiny texture of the finish," notes Stephenson. There was also a black-and-white photo of Audrey Hepburn.

"The client wanted a competition between external designers – some outside the automotive world – and McLaren’s own designers," notes Stephenson. In the end, a design by McLaren’s Korean-born RCA graduate Hong Yeo was chosen, and completed under the direction of Stephenson. One of the biggest design challenges faced by Yeo was that most cars that embody classic elegance and timeless values have front engines and rear-wheel drive proportions.  This is the exact opposite of a mid-engined supercar.  So a new visual language for the car had to be found which led to months of sketching and modelling to find that perfect visual balance. Stephenson recalls: "From this design, we then produced a 30 per cent scale model, then a full-size hard foam model. Initially, we planned to do it all digitally but the client insisted on seeing 'real' models." The styling took 18 months to sign off but the result is a design that in a few decades time will be hard to pinpoint exactly when it was created ... timeless, therefore, exactly as the client requested.

All body panels of the X-1 are made from carbon, and are finished in a rich piano black, as specified by the owner. Body sides are lacquered visual carbon fiber. "The black paint has no metallic or colour tints and is one of the most challenging colours to paint, but the finish is absolutely exquisite and befits the car perfectly" adds Stephenson. Components were tooled exclusively for the car. They even include unique head- and taillights, inspired by the McLaren Speed Marque logo. The brightwork is machined from solid aluminium, and a nickel finish is then applied. The McLaren logo in the nose is specially machined from solid aluminium then nickel plated. Wheels are also unique to the X-1, and are diamond turned with a tinted lacquer to complement the exterior nickel-plated bright work. Perhaps the most unusual styling feature is the enclosed rear wheels, an upshot of the owner’s desire to have a car reflecting "timeless elegance." The wheels are accessed by carbon panels using, as Stephenson explains, "some of the most gorgeous hinges you’ve ever seen." The styling, too, is in no way compromised by the opening rear wings. The X-1 is 4658mm long – 109mm longer than a 12C. Width is 2097mm (with mirrors) – an increase of 188 mm. Despite the revised roofline, the height remains the same, at 1199mm. Curb weight is almost identical (about 1400kg), as the lighter carbon body panels compensate for the greater length and width. Light weight, as with all McLaren projects, was a priority. While the basic architecture of the interior did not change, personalization includes bespoke Harissa Red McLaren Nappa leather used for the seats, door and roof trim, and switchgear with machined nickel-coated, aluminium bezels. The carbon interior trim has a titanium weave, to give a magical 3D-like effect. Special Andesite tufted carpet covers the floor. All these changes ensured the X-1 needed special homologation for road use. The car has been thoroughly engineered to be usable and road legal. The X-1 shares the same the major mechanical components as the 12C, including the twin-turbo 625PS engine, giving astonishing acceleration and top speed.

Stephenson explains: "The X-1 epitomizes how we can not only create a truly unique product tailored to the client, but also enable the client to become a key member of the design team throughout the process.  It has been a truly rewarding and unforgettable experience.  And I think that we as a team have created a completely unforgettable car that is true to one man’s vision."

With design director Frank Stephenson.

Hong Yeo concludes: "We designers are often blinded by the sun and assume that whatever we see and understand is the only way forward: to see the stars, sometimes you need the absence of that blinding light ... looking at a car from a different perspective is what X-1 stands for."

F. Scott Fitzgerald was right, apparently.

After its debut, on the Monterey Peninsula, the X-1 will return to MSO headquarters in Woking and be carefully checked over before it takes a place in the owner’s collection.

(Infiniti)
The Infiniti Emerg-e Concept was revealed at the he 62nd annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this past Sunday. According to Infiniti, the 402HP, mid-engined, twin electric motor-powered Infiniti Emerg-e is capable of accelerating from 0 – 60 miles per hour in 4.0 seconds and from zero to 130 miles per hour in a single, seamless 30-second burst. Yet it also operates as a zero-emission urban transport over a 30-mile range. We love the new direction of Infiniti design, let's hope they can bring it to life on the street.

 

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Our "quick take" this week concerns the spectacular Camaro ZL1 Coupe. I don't have much to add after Dr. Bud's piece (read "Road Kill" here - Ed.), but I do have a few things to offer. First of all, the notion that you can buy a 580HP Camaro (and a 660HP Mustang and countless other 500HP & 600HP+ manufacturer hot rods) for the street is something I'll never get used to, but I find it to be a very good thing. And can we please bury the notion that any of the legendary muscle cars of the 60s and 70s can hold a candle to any of the high-performance cars of today? It's just silly. The cars from yesteryear may be cool for nostalgia reasons, but make no mistake, these are the good old days, and we're living at the absolute peak of high performance right at this very moment in time. And it's not that the ZL1 Camaro is fast and has a big honking engine, because that's pretty much a given. It's what GM development engineers have been able to do with the chassis and the brakes and the steering to the point that this 4,000+ beast is actually toss-able that's just incredible. I don't like the interior of the Camaro much at all, but driving it is something else all together. The ZL1 Camaro is driving in its purest, most raucous form. Brutal acceleration. Great brakes. Responsive dynamics. It just begs to be driven hard, all the time. Echoing Bud, the ZL1 Camaro is an emphatic, unapologetic rebuttal to those who want to eradicate the automobile as the distinctive part of the American culture that it is. This is The Shit, folks. If you love big powerful machines and love to drive - and you have a place to exploit the performance potential of this machine - then if I were you I'd give serious consideration to the baddest-ass production Camaro ever built. -PMD

2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe: $56,765 ($54,095 Base Price; Summit White with Black interior; 6.2-liter supercharged V8 with 580HP and 556 LB-FT of torque @ 3800 RPM; 6-speed manual gearbox; Sport suspension with magnetic ride control; Limited slip differential; Dual mode performance exhaust; Big Ass Brembo brakes; 20" aluminum wheels with 285/35YR-20 Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar G:2 fronts and 305/35YR-20 Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar G:2 rear tires; Exposed carbon fiber weave hood insert, $600; Solid dark gray stripe, $470; 2012 ZL1 Hood insert discount, -$600; Gas guzzler tax, $1,300; Destination charge, $900)

We've introduced a new dimension to our "Quick Take" auto reviews by discussing brand image, in which we will ask a simple question: Does the vehicle we're driving adhere to the stated image of the brand? Or is it just a placeholder until they figure it out? We will be very clear as to what we think here, unlike some of the manufacturers in question who aren't quite sure as to who they are and what they stand for. - PMD

Adherence to Brand Image: Dead. Solid. Perfect. Even though the Camaro was Chevrolet's response to Ford's glorious Mustang, it still has carved out an indelible spot for itself in the pantheon of notable American cars. Chevrolet has been the spear carrier for GM high performance since the 50s (except when Pontiac was kicking their ass back in the day) and along with the Corvette the Camaro was a huge part of it. One of my fondest memories in my Car Life was ripping around town in a borrowed '68 Camaro Z/28, which was an extraordinary car for its time. And the 1968 Penske Sunoco Camaro was my all-time favorite Trans-Am car. The Camaro has been essential part of the Chevrolet high-performance story and image almost since its introduction in 1967. And even though there have been some down years, and no years at all in some cases, it still is one of the iconic American cars. To say that the new Camaro ZL1 is the embodiment of everything about Camaro - and perfectly nails Chevrolet's performance mission - goes without saying. - PMD

 

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