Cars

We’re thrilled to welcome Bonhams back to Classic Driver, commencing with The Amelia Island Auction taking place on 7 March in Florida. The catalogue is a veritable automotive smorgasbord, comprising Don C. Boulton’s renowned collection of pioneer, veteran, and brass-era machines, in addition to an attractive selection of post-War collector cars culminating in several ultra-cool ‘youngtimers’. 

BMW E34 540i 

Alpine pass

It’s hard to draw any conclusions from the typically ambiguous teaser image of the Project 003 Aston Martin has released, but for us, there are shades of both the Valkyrie (below which it’ll sit in the range), McLaren 720S, and AMG One in the rear of the mid-engined supercar. What we do now, however, is that it’ll be powered by a turbocharged hybrid powertrain and, thanks to generous luggage space, genuinely usable. Aston will build just 500 Project 003s, the first of which will be delivered to customers in late 2021.

“Sprightliness and elegance, stability and manoeuvrability, resistance and lightness,” reads the original 1963 press material for the Ghia 1500 GT, the dainty silver coupé here that, if you’re anything like us, you’re probably staring at slack-jawed. The attributes are practically spot on. Based on the humble Fiat 1500 saloon, here was a car that was conceived by Ghia to fill a vacant, albeit tiny, niche in the Turinese auto giant’s range for an affordable and elegant two-seater coupé.