Cars

The decision to build the six ‘missing’ Lightweight E-types from the intended 18-car run was announced as part of plans for Jaguar’s burgeoning Special Operations division, which now has a dedicated heritage arm. All six cars will be built at Jaguar Heritage's facility at Browns Lane (where the original 12 cars were completed) and sold as period competition vehicles, eligible for historic motorsport. Now drink in the details; does it get much better?

In a similar vein to Ferrari’s ‘XX’ programmes, the folks at McLaren Special Operations will handle the hard work, managing transport, maintenance and running at a host of Grand Prix circuits around the world. They’ll even help you hone your driving style, granting access to the secretive McLaren racing simulator to help you get the most from your new ‘toy’. All you need to do is turn up… and have your wits about you, of course.

The atmosphere at ‘The Quail’ is something of a warm-up for Sunday’s headline concours, though that’s not to say it’s any less special. Under the leadership of Bentley veteran Richard Charlesworth (in his role as ‘Master of Ceremonies’), visitors were able to mix fine food and chat in stunning surroundings and automotive company. 

While one-offs and limited editions from mainstream marques are fairly humdrum, Bugatti’s ‘Les Legendes de Bugatti’ series, celebrating the key personalities and vehicles from its long history, is something else entirely.

Admittedly, we've been somewhat optimistic, using the lower estimates of the selected cars and not including the buyer's premium. But let's face it, if you were willing to drop $38m on the GTO, then you're not going to mind going that little bit further – especially considering that you'll be the new owner of not one, but 15 beautiful classics. 

For one week every year, the Californian county of Monterey becomes a Mecca for automotive enthusiasts the world over. Pilgrims flock to drool over the entrants in the various automotive beauty pageants, while there’s plenty of action on track at Laguna Seca. We'll be reporting live from what is without doubt one of the most important events in the classic car calendar, so return here regularly for the latest coverage.

While much higher values had been mooted in anticipation of the headline-grabbing sale, ultimately the car’s less-than-perfect history saw the gavel drop at USD 34.650m, following a tense and lengthy bidding war overseen by Bonhams’ head auctioneer Robert Brooks.

One owner for 49 years

Wet wealth

Now in its 23rd year, the McCall Motorworks Revival occupied its familiar, now-twin-hangar home at the Monterey Jet Center. A far cry from its humble roots (it began as a small barbecue garden party between friends), it has gradually developed into an exclusive event that provides significant cars with a backdrop of planes, helicopters, and a steady stream of canapés.

Although we can’t fulfil that particular desire, we’ve done the next best thing by trawling the market in search of former Pebble Beach Concours entrants that you can actually own, rather than merely fantasise about. From one of the rare Vignale-bodied ‘Otto Vu’ Fiats to an even-rarer pre-War prototype Jaguar, these cars were all, at one point in time, selected for concours duty by the Pebble committee. And the Austin Seven Monoposto?