Google “Lancia Stratos revival” and a number of stories pop up, giving you an idea of the enthusiasm still burning for this 40+ year-old sports car. The revivals never seem to happen, but the originals keep on generating more and more interest.
McLaren recently showed its next Ultimate Series car, the Speedtail, to customers who committed to buying the 106 cars to be built. That’s (intentionally) the same number of F1s made, and, like that seminal supercar, the Speedtail puts the driver in the middle, flanked by a passenger seat on either side.
This past August at the Bonhams Quail Lodge auction in Monterey, a beautiful blue 1972 Volvo 1800 ES with 56,000 original miles sold for $92,400, including buyer’s premium.
Ferrari has been reviving classic model names for many years, most recently with the 812 Superfast. That badge originated with the 500 Superfast, a big yet exquisitely sleek grand tourer built for the marque’s top customers from 1964-1966.
The 2018 Monterey auctions were notable not just for record-setting Ferrari sales, but also for a strong showing among pre-war American cars. A 1935 Duesenberg SSJ LaGrande Roadster once owned by Gary Cooper stole headlines with a $22m sale, but Gooding & Company and Mecum each sold an Auburn Super-Charged Boattail Speedster for over $1m.
Porsche is teasing again. First shown as a concept in June, the 911 Speedster is now scheduled for production, and if you’re not already on the list to get one of the 1,948 being built for global consumption, well, there’s always the next-generation 911 coming down the pike.
At “The Quail: A Motorsports Gathering” in Monterey, Calif. in August, Bugatti unveiled its ultimate model (so far), the Divo, which costs $6m. It is named for Albert Divo, who won the Targa Florio twice in the late 1920s driving a Bugatti Type 35.
Lamborghini used the opportunity of “The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering” in Monterey, Calif. in August to unveil its latest track-ready supercar, the Aventador SVJ. The Aventador SVJ lapped the famed “Green Hell” in Germany in 6:44.97, setting the record for a production car.
At the RM Sotheby’s Monterey sale in August, a 1953 J2-X, one of the 83 made and known as “Little Red,” sold for $280k. (The pre-sale estimate was $275k-$375k).
