Cars

As timeless as the Alfa Romeo Spider’s shape has proved to be, 1975 saw Pininfarina made an attempt to renew the styling of the popular two-seater, incorporating not only a more modern design language, but also the latest safety features.

Witnessing eight of the leading examples from Aston Martin, Bugatti, McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari, Pagani, Lamborghini and Koenigsegg all in the same place is a rare sight – rarer still when all are for sale. The Classic Driver Market is one such place, however, where the cars of your dreams await.

Photo: Steve Hall for Classic Driver

The cars in question – a 2009 430 Scuderia 16M and a 2011 599 S.A. Aperta – have both been riding the wave of young-classic collectability during their short lives. A driver’s favourite, the Scuderia inherits the more focused nature of its coupé brother, yet gives you the option of getting even closer to sensory overload by putting the roof down.

Hardcore Hamster

In the early 1970s, BMW collaborated with Alpina in order to create a homologation special for the European Touring Car series, based on the existing E9 platform. The resulting 3.0 CSL instantly became the sharpest road version of the model – not because of the strong performance of the 180HP six-cylinder engine, but rather because it had been subjected to a crash diet.

The show opened with a ‘Happy View Day’, which sees keen visitors pay full price for a half-day ticket – allowing them a sneak preview and, more importantly, a little space in which to browse the show floor before the madness ensues. This relatively quiet day also provided our photographer Steve Hall with the chance to capture the sights undisturbed.

Attending a dinner in 1930 at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes, the then-Chairman of Bentley Motors, Captain Woolf Barnato, placed a £100 wager among his peers on being able to reach The Conservative Club in London before ‘Le train bleu’ reached its destination in Calais. Barnato and his Speed Six won the race, reputedly with several minutes to spare.