Cars

Ahead of its time

It was, after all, in no small part due to the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger that the DB5 became so famous and successful. Since then, it appeared in another four Bond films, and finally in the relatively recent Skyfall… when Bond’s cherished classic met a tragic end. It’s the Bond connection that has led some commentators to call the DB5 “the most famous car in the world”.

We have to wonder whether the folks at Kahn Design have ever heard the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, as its new Flying Huntsman certainly suggests otherwise. In adding 400mm of bodywork ahead of the windscreen, Maurice Wilks’ seemingly timeless silhouette has been radically altered and, in our eyes, just doesn’t sit right.

As expected, Bonhams and RM both achieved the largest single lot results of the Arizona sales with their ex-Scuderia Filipinetti Ferraris, achieving $9.4m and $9.6m for their 275 GTB/C and 250 LM, respectively. RM also achieved two world auction records for Ferraris, with a 275 GTS and a 288 GTO fetching a corresponding $2.37m and $2.75m, while Gooding sold its headline lot – a LWB Cal’ Spider – for $7.7m.

The class categories for the follow-up to last year’s successful event have been completely overhauled, promising visitors a whole new display – albeit with no loss of quality. Among them will be an assembly of ACF Grand Prix cars, a dedication to ‘iconoclastic interiors’ and a tribute to ‘The Famous Ladies' Cars’ – might we see the Bergman 375 MM make another concours appearance?

After a bountiful early start to Aston Martin and Carrozzeria Touring’s relationship, cracks were beginning to appear. The coachbuilder’s proposal for the DB5 replacement was rejected in favour of an in-house reworking, the same fate that befell its pitch for what became the four-seat DBS.

The headquarters of the company will remain in Maldon, Essex, home to the firm’s 60 craftsmen, technicians and engineers. However, with the company developing such an international reputation in recent years – and the client base to go with it – it was in need of a more central location, with closer proximity to the major airports for clients on flying visits.

When Alejandro de Tomaso took over the reins of Maserati from Citroën in 1975, he was confident of the potential for a comfortable, high-performance saloon. He had already created such a car in the form of the De Tomaso Deauville, and believed that a new Maserati Quattroporte was the way to go for the beleaguered Trident. According to De Tomaso, the 1974 Quattroporte II, built on the extended chassis of a Citroën SM, was not right at all: the 3.0-litre V6 – a sad let-down after the powerful V8 of the first Quattrop