Can a track-focused sports car be too track-focused? That’s what one major auto magazine suggested after testing the BMW M4 CSL, a special lighter, more powerful version of its M4. While the “lesser” BMW M4 Competition xDrive model (which is not a competition car, btw) is quicker in some acceleration tests, the 40-hp more powerful, 240-pound lighter, $58,000 more expensive M4 CSL is the faster car around the kind of private membership tracks whose clients this car is intended. You’ll pay for that capability with reduced comfort in everyday driving, but would you care?
McLaren has given its alluring 720S a hefty update, including a 30-hp boost that triggers a badge change to 750S. The 66 pounds McLaren cut from the 720S might seem small in terms of acceleration performance, but it lets McClaren claim the 750S as its lightest-ever “series production” model (which excludes limited models). A major cockpit revision enhances driver control, and a new exhaust system unleashes howling soundtrack. Best of all, there’s a choice between coupe and Spider models.
Aston Martin bills its new DB12 grand tourer as a “super tourer” because, the British automaker says, “grand is not enough” to describe the DB11’s successor. Marketing fluff aside, the new DB12 appears to be a super new entry into a segment where its closest rival is the Ferrari Roma. The overall look will be familiar to Aston fans, and the interior steps up to a “super” level of grand touring luxury and tech. The Mercedes-AMG twin-turbo V8 gets a boost to a very super 671 horsepower, easily exceeding the DB11’s V8 and V12. Customer deliveries start in fall.
When Lamborghini puts the “Performante” badge on a vehicle, you can be sure it’s the hottest version and ready for some track thrills. The Urus Performante lives up to that badge’s promise, but at a cost in both extra dollars and reduced comfort. This carbon-fiber-festooned hooligan is meant for pavement only. For Lamborghini purists, having an exotic SUV with plenty of room that also thrills in track driving might be worth the sacrifices the vehicle demands.
You can’t get a manual transmission from Ferrari or Lamborghini today, but collectors are willing to pay hefty premiums for their last stick-shift models. This trend specifically applies to the cars that offered the choice between the real manual and the “robotized” manual, which Ferrari called F1 and Lamborghini called E-Gear. Today, a Ferrari F430 with the stick-shift can command a 100% premium over the F1 model. Some independent shops are even providing conversions back to full manual transmissions. Is that a wise purchase?
For those who have ever argued whether the 1968-1974 Dino was a “real” Ferrari, rest assured, it is. The debate was rooted in Enzo Ferrari’s decision to name the sports car for his son, Alfredo “Dino” Ferrari, who died in 1956. The young engineer had provided inspiration and technical input for a race-winning V6 engine that, a decade later, powered this pivotal road car in the Ferrari lineage. It was the exotic automaker’s first mid-engine model and the progenitor of a line that continues today. Recent near-million-dollar auction sales for Dinos have drawn attention.
Pioneering Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov would have been thrilled to see the new-generation mid-engine Vette comparing favorably with far more expensive sports cars. And he would have been floored to see the new-for-2023 Z06 version called “an American Ferrari” by a leading automotive magazine. Lapping a racetrack faster than all but a handful of exotics and priced from $110,000 to nearly $180,000 with all options, the Corvette Z06 has indeed “arrived” in a new echelon of the performance car world.
Is there a hotter rivalry in the premium car arena than Ferrari v Lamborghini? Buckle up, it’s only going to get hotter as this decade unfolds. Hot on the trail of its Purosangue, Ferrari unveiled the new Roma Spider. This stunning soft-top will replace the Portofino M in the line. Meanwhile, Lamborghini has unveiled the chassis and powertrain for its upcoming 1,000-horsepower hyper hybrid and confirmed plans for two more hybrids and then two battery EVs. Never a dull moment with these two Italian supercar superpowers.
Forget March Madness, Florida brought the heat to the collector car world with the quartet of Amelia Island auctions booking $186 million in sales, a record for the venue. The top sale, a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT California Spider, accounted for $18M by itself. Ferraris grabbed 13 slots across the four auctions’ Top-10 lists, and Porsches took four. Modern supercars made some auction Top-10 lists, including $5.3M for a rare Pagani Zonda and $2.4M for a McLaren P1. A 1931 Duesenberg put the spotlight on Pre-war cars with a $4.3M sale.
