Cars

Traffic lights

Peter W. Mullin’s fierce and lifelong passion for French cars from the Art Deco period has led him to establish the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California. A prolific collector, Mullin’s commitment and support of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and other such events around the world has proved invaluable in raising interest in these important French cars, as well as educating the younger generation.

The show-stopper

1998 Mercedes-Benz E60T AMG

Zagato Green

The Jaguar F-type SVR is Special Vehicle Operations’ first series-production car, and follows the principles learned with such cars as the Jaguar Project 7 and the Range Rover SVR. That means less weight, achieved with the use of carbon-ceramic brakes and a lightweight titanium exhaust, and more power – some 575HP from the supercharged 5.0-litre V8, good for 0-60mph in 3.7sec and a top speed of 200mph. Available in both coupé and convertible guises, deliveries of the all-wheel-drive sports car will begin in the summer, following its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March. 

Grand Touring. In the 1960s, it meant jovial road trips across Europe, culminating on the Côte d’Azur, where you could live la dolce vita brushing shoulders with the Jet Set. Choosing a car for such travels was no mean feat – sure, a Ferrari or an Aston Martin possessed all the right ingredients, but if you really wanted to make a statement, you couldn’t go far wrong with a Lancia Flaminia or Facel Vega. And the same can be said today. 

Perhaps the most obvious thing to point out in the catalogue is that nine of the top ten highest-valued cars are Ferraris, indicative of the brand’s on-going dominance of the classic car world. But delving deeper, things become a little more interesting.

Had Bruce McLaren’s eponymous company had the means to build 50 of its closed-coupé GTs in order to homologate the car in Europe, it might well have proved to be a competent sports-racing car. Alas, the task was too demanding, and just eight were produced, of which this car was one.