The famous for their restomodding abilities on vintage 4x4s ICON has brought one of their “Derelicts” models to Jay Leno’s Garage in their latest episode. The concept of the Derelicts is about leaving the exterior unrestored while bringing everything under the skin up to modern standards and then some more. This particular 1948 Buick Super Convertible is rocking a brand-new chassis with a Corvette ZR1 engine bolted on it, producing just under 700hp, according to the CEO of ICON, Jonathan Ward.
The idea of preserving the patina, to keep the body paint and chrome bits in their respective poor state that is, is certainly charming when everything underneath is modern. It certainly sounds liberating for someone who prefers driving his restored car rather than polishing it.
This particular Buick with its sub-700hp engine under the hood is just the ultimate sleeper.
Back at the dawn of the motor car, there was genuinely was no replacement for displacement, as this slightly scary 1911 Fiat S76 proves. The car you see here is actually running for the first time in 100 years, after having undergone a 10-year-long restoration process. The car nicknamed the “Turin Beast” was originally aimed to be speed record machine, a role which it more than fulfilled thanks to its 28.3-liter engine that had ~290 PS and could propel the 1,650 kg / 3,637 lbs vehicle up to 290 km/h or 180 mph.
It was never clocked that fast, though, managing to average just under 140 mph or 225 km/h within the constraints of the two run system, which requires the car to have a go in each direction then calculate the average.
This particular car was apparently dismantled after the First World War, so as not to fall into enemy hands, and in 2003 the chassis made its way to the UK, in the hands of its owner and enthusiast engineer, Duncan Pittaway - see him start the car here for the very first time!
The car is now fully operational and really rather spectacular to see in action, as you’ll find out for yourself in the video posted below.
Manual Ferraris are always a treat in this paddle-infested world we are living in but would you pay almost $700K for a 2007 599 GTB, just because it has a gated shifter? Well, one bidder did that, paying $682.000 (about £460.000 or €645.000) for a manual 599 GTB in Amelia Island’s RM Auction, almost half a million more than the estimated $200,000 - $275,000.
The car itself has covered less than 3.800 miles since its delivery from new in Portland, Oregon, making it one of the only 20 manual 599s to exist officially in the United States. Being considered as the last, analog Ferrari V12, the 599 GTB is using essentially a detuned version of the Enzo’s engine, making 620bhp at 7.600rpm with a top speed of 205mph.
With a black-on-black colour combination, the 599 GTB looks menacing enough, featuring the desirable Daytona-style seats made from Recaro. Its previous owner had it properly stored in a climate-controlled environment to ensure nothing bad will happen to it during its stay with him.
If you think that regular 599 GTBs with the paddle shifter go for about £100K (about $148K or €140K) in the UK and the extreme GTOs fetch around £400-500K (about $592K-740K or €560Κ-700Κ), paying that amount for a regular, manual 599 could only mean two things. Either the market will start to treat the last remaining manual Ferraris as a separate exclusive entity in their line-up, driving prices into ridiculous levels or the fortunate owner of this lovely manual 599 GTB will face a very unpleasant surprise when he decides to calculate again how much is the real cost of the car in the future.
We understand the exclusivity of it, being 1 of only 20 in the United States but is this rareness really worth $700K? It’s a ‘normal’ 599 after all.
When it comes to assessing future automotive classics, experts usually focus on used cars that are well over 10 years old, but what about brand new models? Here’s where Hagerty steps in, with its annual list of vehicles that stand out as likely being collectible within the next 25 years.
To qualify for the "Hagerty Hot List", a car has to be made during the 2015 model year and have an MSRP of under $100,000, with Hagerty's collector experts giving a special preference to newly released vehicles over ones that appeared in previous lists - whenever possible.
The only model that reappears in this year's Top 10 is the Alfa Romeo 4C. Obviously, this list is for cars sold in the US market.
"We hear a lot of chatter about how cars made today are boring," said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty. "The cars that made this list prove there are still cars to be excited about. They are true drivers' cars that are definitely enjoyable now, but each one that made the list has that special something that will make it a collectible in the years to come."
You can check Hagerty's Top 10 future collectibles for the 2015MY below, but before you do, let me just say that, I'm surprised they included the BMW M4 Convertible, as besides the original M3 E30 Convertible that was a special case because it was produced in limited numbers, no other open-top M3 has ever managed to come even close to its coupe counterpart in pricing. The 2015 Hagerty Top 10 Hot List in alphabetical order (with base price): 1) Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition ($69,685) –" Alfa Romeo returns to America after a twenty year absence with a junior supercar that boasts an impressive 0-60 time of 4.1 seconds, and a carbon fiber chassis. It oozes Italianness from every single carbon fiber making it perhaps the hottest car on a very hot Hot List."
2) BMW M4 Convertible ($73,450) – "The M3 and M5 have been the go-to cars for BMW Motorsports junkies since the late 1980s. The M4 offers those fans the silky torque of a twin turbo, inline-six engine, but, perhaps more importantly, it's the only M-car, other than the pricey M6, that can be had as a convertible."
3) Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 ($75,000) – "The ultimate road course ready Camaro. Boasting a weight loss of 300 pounds and the LS7 V8 with 505 horsepower and 481 pound feet of torque, Chevrolet let the engineers out to play and they created a monster. Anyone who isn't aware that we're living in a new golden age of automotive performance has been clogging up the left lane for too long."
4) Chevrolet Corvette Z06($78,995) - "Bang for your buck is an understatement for the supercharged Z06, which may well be the all-time performance for the dollar champion. The Corvette has now entered supercar territory at a fraction of the price of the competition from Germany and Italy. "
5) Dodge Challenger Hellcat ($58,295) – "It feels like the 1960s again. The Cold War is back and so are the muscle car horsepower wars and Dodge just exercised the nuclear option with this beast. Limited production and 707 horsepower means that the Hellcat earns its moniker. Clearly the Challenger Hellcat is here to turn fuel into noise and rubber into dust and little else. "
6) Ford Mustang GT Performance Package($37,125) – "Although the 50th anniversary edition will be produced in far less numbers, we at Hagerty think the GT performance package is the true driver's car. Ford had a tough job following up the 2005-14 Mustang but they've done it very well (better perhaps than in 1967 when the Mustang was re-designed for the first time). Here's to another fifty years."
7) Mazda MX-5 Miata 25th Anniversary Edition($33,000) – "The popularity of Japanese collector cars is on the rise and the Miata has established itself as the quintessential modern roadster. With this special edition also the last of its generation, it is already sealed as a collectible with only 100 models making the trip to North America."
8) MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop ($24,950) – "New for 2015, the 2 door hardtop John Cooper Works MINI is the most powerful MINI ever produced. The performance specs are impressive, but what will have collectors drooling in the future is the attention paid to the MINI's design concept."
9) Subaru WRX STI Launch Edition($38,190) – "With a stiffer body, advanced suspension and a turbocharged Boxer four cylinder the STI is quite literally a factory built rally car that you can drive off the showroom floor. The smile inducing acceleration is simply intoxicating, and the very limited release Launch Edition will be loved by collectors and rally fans for years to come."
10) Volkswagen Golf R ($36,595) – "4Motion" all-wheel drive, 292 horsepower, 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph make the all new VW Golf the most powerful VW hatchback to date. With a 2.0L turbocharged inline 4 this VW is bound to excite collectors now and in the future. It's the Golf that GTI fan boys and girls have been begging VW to build."
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