We’ve already taken a closer look at the headline lot for Dorotheum’s upcoming Classic Car and Motorcycle sale, the über-rare Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 GT, but now it’s time to peruse the rest of the 71-lot catalogue. As we’ve come to expect from the Austrian auction house, there is a wonderfully diverse selection of collector cars and motorcycles on offer, ranging from the tantalisingly affordable to the über-desirable.
There are three unlikely protagonists in the ill-fated tale of this 16-cylinder unicorn. The first is Claudio Zampolli, an ex-Lamborghini engineer who successfully turned his hand to selling exotic cars on America’s West Coast. He eventually grew restless, deciding instead to pursue his dream of building a supercar superior to the ones he was peddling. All he needed was an equally enthusiastic financier.
Our friends at Auctomobile in Prague recently joined hundreds of other Czech enthusiasts and hit the road for one of the country’s first post-lockdown events: the 1000 Miles of Czechoslovakia.
When we learned that our friends at Girardo & Co. were going to be exhibiting a handful of important Lancia rally cars at the Honourable Artillery Company for this year’s London Concours, we had a brainwave. Why go to the trouble of having the cars trailered to the event when we could take the opportunity to brighten up a grey Tuesday in the capital and drive them there ourselves?
Mercedes-Benz had grand plans for its competition GT version of the SLR McLaren 722 Edition, the conversion of which was entrusted to Ray Mallock Ltd in the UK. It had planned to produce 21 cars to satisfy the FIA’s homologation requirements and stage a multi-season one-make racing series during which the well-heeled owners would be paired with professional drivers including Jean Alesi, Klaus Ludwig and Jochen Mass.