The 1937 Bugatti Type 57S Atalante that was recently discovered forgotten in a garage in the UK has sold for about $4.4 million.
Hailed as one of the last great garage discoveries, the Bugatti was found locked in the garage of a reclusive Newcastle doctor after his death, along with an Aston Martin and a Jaguar E-Type. The Type 57S Atalante went under the hammer at the Paris Bonhams Retromobile auction on February 7, and the final selling price was 3,417,500 euros.
One of just seventeen examples, the car was originally owned by Earl Howe, the first president of the British Racing Drivers Club. Registered DKY 5, the Bugatti was a familiar sight in the local sports-car scene, and passed through a few owners until Dr. Harold Carr ended up purchasing it in 1955. It was in his garage that the car sat after it was mothballed in the early 1960s until it was unearthed in 2007.
The Type 57S was a sportier incarnation of the Type 57, with a high-performance engine and a shortened, low-slung frame and de Ram shock absorbers. Type 57S racers won the A.C.F., la Marne and Comminges Grand Prix races in 1936 and at Le Mans in 1937.
The identity of the Type 57S’ new owner has not been disclosed.
Porsche will be introducing a new sports exhaust for use on the 911 Carrera and the Targa 4 models. The new system will be available as an option on new vehicle purchases beginning in February.
The new exhaust is stainless-steel, with a unique quad-pipe outlet at the back. Exhaust flaps on the back are fully adjustable, the sport exhaust lets the 911 customer tweak everything, including the car’s sound. Working by push button, the throaty sounding exhaust can be manipulated by the driver at any time. Located within the center console, the button is conveniently placed for the driver. - Read the Press Release after the break -
German police are investigating the cause of an accident which left a car suspended nearly 25 feet off the ground, halfway through the roof of a church. The accident took place in Limbach-Oberfrohna, just outside of Chemnitz, Germany. Police believe the 23-year-old driver was racing through the center of town when he lost control of his Skoda Octavia, careened off an embankment, and shot seven meters into air to end in the church.
The driver of the Skoda Octavia was extracted from the vehicle, and transported to the hospital with serious injuries. Damage to the vehicle has been estimated at €10,000. Meanwhile, the town’s church was badly damaged from the accident, but the cost of the damage has yet to be assessed. Investigators have requested the assistance of physicists in the accident reconstruction.
One police officer told reporters at the scene, “the driver took off due to unexplained circumstances, flew some 30 meters through the air and ended up seven meters up in the church roof.”
Investigators believe the car’s speed led to the driver missing a turn. Just how the vehicle went airborne is still a bit of a mystery. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” continued Officer Knut Wagner.
Police and medical workers will carry out testing on a blood sample taken from the driver to determine if alcohol or drugs played a role in the incident.
Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson used his column in The Sun newspaper to mock the recent rumors surrounding the Stig’s identity as Ben Collins.
Clarkson insists the rumors are an attempt to spoil everyone’s fun and then goes on to say that the recent reports that the Stig is Ben Collins are wrong and that there is no single Stig. He then jokes about the internet speculation by saying “There are four (Stigs). The main one is Damon Hill. It’s Tiff Needell.”
The drama that surrounds the Stig’s identity has ended up with members of the Top Gear crew being followed by paparazzi which led to naming of Collins who works for the show. Clarkson did admit that for still photographs there are several people who have donned the white suit and helmet in order to portray the Stig but only one is allowed to drive on the track. This leads us to Clarkson’s last jab at the Daily Telegraph were he goes on say that the Stig’s real identity is that of BBC royal reporter Nicholas Witchell.
Audi is going big in the US with an exclusive sponsorship of the inauguration of the next President of the United States. There are a couple reasons why the German car manufacturer has decided to do this. Firstly, Audi had its best sales year to date in 2008, delivering over one million units worldwide in 2008. Second, it is Audi’s 100th Anniversary of automobile production. And third, which is perhaps the most important reason, apparently the marketing folks at Audi saw quite a bit of synergy between Obama’s call for change and their own focus on progress. After all, their tagline is Vorsprung Durch Technik, or advancement/progress through technology.
Audi is making possible limited advertising on ABC, CBS, and NBC evening newscasts during Obama’s inauguration next Tuesday. They’re also doing an 8-page (!) “Progress is Beautiful” newspaper insert in the USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Boston Globe. They’re doing Web promotions such as bringing the inauguration speech live online as the exclusive sponsor of streaming broadcasts on ABCNews.com, CBSNews.com, Msnbc.com, and WashingtonPost.com. Finally, they will be buying full-day sponsorships of Slate.com and sole sponsorship of TheAtlantic.com on January 20th. All told, their web efforts should bring inaugural coverage to over 30 million individuals in real time.
- click picture for the 2009 Boxster and Cayman high-res gallery -
The prices have been announced for the new Porsche Boxster and Cayman models in the US. The baseline Boxster starts at $46,600 and the Boxster S goes for $56,700. You’ll be able to get a Cayman and Cayman S for $50,300 and $60,200, respectively. These prices are about 1.8 percent higher than those of the outgoing 2008 models.
The Boxster and Cayman feature new engines, with a 2.9-litre flat-six that produces 255 bhp for the Boxster and 10 bhp less in the Cayman. Both the Boxster S and Cayman S share a 3.4-litre unit that delivers 310 bhp and 320 bhp respectively. Both engines are more powerful yet more fuel efficient than their predecessors.
In addition, the new models also include XM radio, Bluetooth connectivity, an iPod interface and Porsche Communication Management (PCM) with a touch screen. Porsche’s new 7-speed double clutch transmission called PDK can be ordered with any of the four models.
We all know that the Stig’s identity is one of those great mysteries that would lose all of its intrigue if it were to be revealed. Nevertheless, there’s another story that hints at the secret identity of the man behind the helmet. While the source of the leak was a senior within the BBC, the British TV giant says it will never officially confirm the Stig’s identity.
News of the World reports the Stig is a happily married man in his 30s who lives in modest home and drives a boring £15,000 car. He is said to earn £150,000 a year combining his Top Gear job with some stunt and test driving. Whatever you believe to get out of these comments, we like not knowing who he is. Some say it’s best this way.
In November we reported that Lamborghini Orange County, formerly the world’s largest Lambo dealer, had suddenly closed its doors. While there were rumours, the actual reason for the closure is finally out thanks to released court documents from a lawsuit where Volkswagen accuses the dealership of stealing $12 million in just eight days.
Volkswagen claims the Keuylians, former owners of Lamborghini Orange County, committed “outright theft” by selling 54 exotic sports cars at deep discounts, suggestedly running off with the money and failing to pay their creditor. Volkswagen Credit financed the cars in advance of sale but didn’t get any of the money.
Either way, we’re surprised to see that this dealership was able to sell an incredible 7 cars per day over an 8 day period, without getting noticed.
The Manchester United winger Christiano Ronaldo escaped without a scratch after his £200,000 Italian supercar was smashed to pieces into a roadside barrier inside a tunnel just outside Manchester Airport. The red Ferrari 599 GTB was badly damaged, particularly on the front end.
The car has a 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 456kW (612hp) and is capable of a top speed of over 330 km/h (205 mph). Ronaldo is presumed to have been traveling alone in the car when the incident took place. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
A witness said: “The front of Ronaldo’s car was completely mangled. There was metal all over the road and debris - and we had to dodge our way through it. Ronaldo was just standing at the side of the road looking forlorn and bewildered.”
A club spokesman said: “Cristiano was involved in an incident this morning. No other cars were involved. He’s fine and is training as normal with the team this morning.”
If you’re interested to see the options, pricing or a quote for the new 2009 BMW 7 Series - the online configurator is now available on bmwusa.com.
Currently there are two models available now for the US market, the BMW 750i and 750Li. At the end of this year, a high-end V12 model, the BMW 760Li, will come to the US as well.
We all know that the Stig’s identity is one of those great mysteries that would lose all of its intrigue if it were to be revealed. Nevertheless, there’s another story that hints at the secret identity of the man behind the helmet. While the source of the leak was a senior within the BBC, the British TV giant says it will never officially confirm the Stig’s identity.
