Cars

Videos: McLaren Automotive














 

Like the Aperta 599 GTB, Ferrari made the last-ever 575 Maranello a convertible, packing it with every conceivable extra and luxurious appointment. It was a throw-back to the super-exclusive days of the 50s and 60s.

In addition, power was increased by 25bhp (to 540bhp) and at the time it was the fastest convertible in the world, topping out at 199mph. The GTC handling pack and F1, semi-automatic gearbox endow what might have become a cruising boulevardier with handling and performance of the highest order.

In Emilia-Romagna, a deep-rooted passion for cars and the fine art of coachbuilding is in the very genes of the population, and the region has given birth to a great many automotive legends. At the heart of these legends is – almost always – the name Ferrari. In the late 1950s, Franco Bacchelli started work at Carrozzeria Sports Cars in Modena, then under the control of the famous racing driver and coachbuilder Piero Drogo, where Bacchelli gained the specialist expertise he would use throughout his working life, including the use of lightweight racing materials.

Every two years, just a few weeks after the modern 24 Hours, the good citizens of Le Mans welcome historic racing enthusiasts to arguably the most famous circuit in the world. The necessary road closures are made, the signs are put up and the ACO sets its superb organisation into gear once again; this time for the ‘Le Mans Classic’.

Although the figures are yet to be officially confirmed, in addition to an impressive top speed, the 0-62mph time is likely to be just 4.5 seconds (against 4.2 seconds for the coupé).

This should make it one of the fastest-ever open Astons.

Crowning the new range of swept-back estates, the AMG version will borrow the 518bhp twin-turbo 5.5-litre V8 used in the range-topping CLS saloon, mated to the also-familiar seven-speed automatic gearbox.

This will propel the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake from 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds; but if that’s not enough, customers who act promptly will able to order an ‘Edition 1’ variant, which nips 0.1 seconds off the standard sprint and lifts power to 549bhp. Torque rises, too, from 516 to 590lb ft.

The Tour had started earlier that week, with 22 cars setting out on a trip from chateau to chateau, in stunning French countryside and on incomparable RN roads of the type used as a route by the original Tour de France Automobile.

After many days of stormy weather, the normally immaculate cars looked as if they’d come straight from the race track or a rally stage in the early 1960s.