While EVs may grab headlines with their acceleration performance, the latest gas/electric hybrid supercars throw down the gauntlet with some track-burning speed and excitement. The early tests of the Ferrari 296 GTB and Lamborghini Revuelto show that, with a little help from electrons, cars with roaring engines can still melt the asphalt … and blow their drivers’ minds. Though far apart from each other in price, the Ferrari and Lambo make the same emphatic point about the still-thrilling potential available from cars with pistons and pipes.
If you plan to be in New York City on November 13 and have easy access to about $60 million, why not take a chance bidding on a one-of-one Ferrari? The RM Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Art auction will offer a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO that’s also known as the 330 LM. The car was built to suit a new race class at the time, which allowed replacing the 25 GTO’s 3.0-liter V12 with a more powerful 4.0-liter. Ferrari kept this special GTO for its own Scuderia Ferrari race team. Will this car surpass the reported $70 million a private collector paid for a 250 GTO in 2018? We shall see on November 13.
Has inflation taken a bite out of the exotic car market? Premier Financial Services Midwest Regional Sales Manager Ross Dressel has seen a dip in activity in the $200K-$500K heart of that segment. But meanwhile, “affordable” pre-owned exotics and classics in the $75K-$200K range are getting more action for America’s #1 exotic and classic car lease financing provider. Who’s up? Who’s down? Read here to find out.
The Corvette is going electric! This fall, customers start taking delivery of the quickest Corvette ever, the E-Ray hybrid. Combining combustion and electric power, the E-Ray is designed to deliver the ultimate street Corvette experience. Just as the 2020 mid-engine Sting Ray realized a Corvette layout first promised more than 50 years ago, the E-Ray’s all-wheel drive delivers on legendary Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov’s vision and experiments with all-wheel grip for the Vette even before that. The E-Ray is available in coupe and convertible models, starting around $105,000. A full electro-Vette is in the pipeline, too.
Just a few months after unveiling its new DB12 “super tourer” coupe, Aston Martin has introduced the convertible version, called Volante. The British automaker first used the Volante name on a special run of 37 DB5 convertibles in 1965 and has used it on its convertibles since. The name is Italian for ‘flying’ or ‘moving lightly and quickly.’ The 671-horsepower DB12 Volante can certainly do that. The newest Aston Martin would seem to have just two direct rivals, the Ferrari Roma Spider and Bentley Continental GTC. Which would you choose?
What does $400 million buy today? It was enough to take home about 1,200 of the world’s finest collector cars offered at the 2023 Monterey auctions held from August 17-19. That was down from $475M in 2022, and the sell-through rate was lower, too. Just the same, some stellar automobiles traded hands in Monterey at auctions held by Bonhams, Broad Arrow, Gooding & Company, Mecum, and RM Sotheby’s. The top sale was a 1967 Ferrari 412P racecar for $30.2M at Bonhams, while a 1957 Jaguar XKSS, one of just 16 made, was #2 at just over $13M.
Giotto Bizzarrini, who died in spring 2023, left a legacy that includes the Ferrari 250 GTO, the first Lamborghini V12 engine, and the car that bore his name, the Bizzarrini 5300 GT. Few of these stunning Italian sports/GT cars were made, all powered by Chevy Corvette V8s for spellbinding performance and easy serviceability. A class win at Le Mans in 1965 established racing pedigree. At its Monterey Auction this month, RM Sotheby’s is offering an impeccably finished 5300 GT with a pre-sale estimate of $880K-$1M.
Fourteen years after Enzo Ferrari’s passing, the company he founded honored his memory with a car bearing not only his surname, but also his given name. When introduced in 2002, the Ferrari Enzo represented the culmination of the automaker’s expertise in both high-performance road cars and Formula One racing. F1 tech abounded, including carbon fiber and aluminum construction, carbon-ceramic brakes, and more. At its upcoming auction at Monterey Car Week, Bonhams is offering an Enzo that has been enjoyed as the founder would have liked: being driven.
Car collectors heading to Monterey Car Week in August will have plenty of treasures vying for their money, including two 1967 Ferrari 330 GTS models in very different condition offered at the RM Sotheby’s auction. A restored blue car originally owned by artist James Wyeth looks like it just drove off the showroom floor, and it has won many awards. A silver 330 GTS offered will need restoration. It’s one of 20 rare Ferrari that sat in a Florida barn for years before Hurricane Charley destroyed the building in 2004. The Ferrari then sat in an Indianapolis warehouse until this year. Offered at no reserve, it will definitely be going to a new home.
