Cars

Whether built to satisfy the requirements of homologation or those of its die-hard enthusiasts, Porsche has produced no-holds-barred racing cars for the road on numerous occasions: famous examples include the Carerra 2.7 RS, the 930 Turbo and the current 911 GT3. But the pinnacle of racing homologation – in performance terms at least – came in the late 1990s, when Porsche was required to produce a short run of road-going ‘Straßenversions’ to homologate its 911 GT1 for entry into the top tier of the FIA GT Championship.

This year, the special features alone make the trip to Stuttgart worthwhile. No fewer than eight cars from the prestigious Louwman museum will be on display, while the GM Futureliner will make a stop-off and the legendary Bugatti Royale ‘Esders’ Roadster will make a return in the form of a faithful recreation. Elsewhere, near-forgotten marques such as Veritas and Laverda will be honoured.

Although last year’s memorable result for the Baillon Cal’ Spider remains unsurpassed, the strong price for Gooding’s Amelia 2016 car puts it (just) ahead of the covered-headlamp car it sold at Pebble Beach last year. Meanwhile, the top-seller of the RM Sotheby’s Amelia sale was another Ferrari from the same era: a 1962 400 Superamerica LWB, which sold for 4.4m dollars including premium – a new World Record for the model. Bonhams’ star car was the Vanden Plas-bodied Bugatti Type 57SC, which sold for 9.735m dollars.

A tribute to happy Hans

Designed as an entry-level model to sit below the brutish 5300 GT Strada, the Bizzarrini 1900 GT Europa was doomed from the start. Owing to financial troubles that would ultimately lead to the bankruptcy of the Livorno-based company, it is believed that just 12 examples of the baby Bizza left the production line, before unpaid workers revolted and damaged many of the un-built bodies at the factory. The car you’re looking at was built from one of the aforementioned dormant bodies that was fortunately unscathed. 

BMW 700

2000 Maserati 3200 GT

Precious Italian metal

There’s been a mutually agreed viewpoint when discussing the above with those in the know: ‘It had to happen’. Naturally, this ‘cooling off’ phase is plainest to see in the most visible sector of the market, the auction hall. “Generally speaking, demand hasn’t tailed off, but there has been a notable increase in supply,” says Dietrich Hatlapa, Founder of the Historic Automobile Group International. “There are more dealers, more auction houses, and more cars consigned to an increasing number of sales.”