Editorial

Ferrari has announced the price in the UK of its flagship luxury model, the 612 Scaglietti. It’s £170,500, so any thoughts (with the advent of the Bentley Continental GT, Aston Martin DB9 and Lamborghini Gallardo - all priced around the £115,000 mark) that the days of £160,000+ luxury cars were over can be quickly forgotten. The company expects to sell just 60 RHD examples this year to the British Isles, into a market where price appears to matter little. Interestingly sister company Maserati has pricing news spanning both ends of the spectrum, it has reduced the cost of Coupé and Spyder ownership by nearly 10% as well as indicating that the magnificent MC12 hyper-performance car will cost in the region of 600,000 Euros - more than an ‘Enzo’ Ferrari. I am sure there will be customers out there for both cars - we’ve had contact from ‘Enzo’ buyers (selected by Ferrari, and limited to one car each remember) looking for a second one; now’s their chance to buy a similar model. It’s tough at the top.

For another 122,000 Euro you can have a Brabus-modified Maybach LWB. Full details appear in our news piece below, but it occurred to me that BMW are unlikely to allow a similar exercise by specialist tuners Alpina or Hartge on the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Famously protective of the mascot and grille, the British company has gone to great lengths to re-introduce the R-R name to core customers that had probably deserted it in the ‘80s and ‘90s, moving to Bentleys or German luxury saloons. Few things would tarnish the image more than add-on tuning parts (however well engineered) to a car whose performance and demeanour is more than ‘adequate’.

The entry for this year’s Tour Auto looks superb, and it’s interesting to see the field opened up with the increasing take-up of more competitors into the later post-1965 class. Historic racing has to move on, and the addition of ‘Batmobile’ BMW CSLs, Competition Daytonas and wide-body Porsche Carrera RSRs to this event, the Le Mans Classic and others means a whole raft of (cheaper, well sort-of) cars being eligible for these ‘blue riband’ meetings. The opening day in Paris (19th April) sounds good, perhaps well worth making a trip from the UK for the ‘off’.

Steve Wakefield Managing Editor sw@classicdriver.com

THIS WEEK IN CLASSIC DRIVER

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Morgan Plus 8 3.9

All-alloy bodywork; full leather trim; very full spec.

Extras including folding/reclining seats, walnut dash, dual exhausts, internal scuttle roll-bar, spot/fog lamps, chrome luggage rack, locking fillers etc.

Original Order Sheet, full photographic Build Record including 1 signed by Peter Morgan, 1992 Sales Brochure and other 'history'.

One owner till 1992, never driven in the wet; (has original stickers in the engine compartment, and jack is still wrapped!).

Absolutely pristine and very quick. 3,700 miles confirmed.

colour Storm Blue Metallic
dinterior colour Grey/Blue leather
mileage 5.955 km / 3.700 m
year 1992

price 26.950 GBP

Dealership:
Nostalgia
Hertford Heath, Hertfordshire SG13 7RT, United Kingdom



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Aston Martin Vintage 1.5 Litre Ulster - ex Derrick Edwards

FIA Papers

An Original Ulster

Works entered in 1935 at Le Mans (Falkner/Clarke 8th, 4th in class), Mille Miglia (Hall/Marsden) and the Targa Abruzzo (Laurani/Strazza), this important and historic Aston Martin is a passport to all the finest motoring events in the world.

More recently outings at Monterey, the Coys Festival, Mille Millia Historica and the Le Mans Classic have all been a great success, and it would be ideal for the new European "Legends" series.

In first class condition and always meticulously maintained by Ecurie Bertelli, this famous old sports car is ready to race or rally.Full F.I.A. and F.I.V.A. papers and a substantial history file come with the car.

Contact Andy Bell for further details.

colour Dark Blue
Chassis No. B5/549/U
year 1935

Price P.O.R.

Dealership:

Ecurie Bertelli
No. 53 Stilebrook Road, Yardley Rd. Ind. Est., Olney MK46 5EA, United Kingdom

Phone +44-(0) 1234-240 024

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Coppa Milano-San Remo, Italy
12th - 14th March 2004

Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, USA
13th - 14th March 2004

Classic Cars Live!, Alexandra Palace, London
20th - 21st March 2004

Christie’s at Jack Barclay Showroom, London
29th March 2004

Techno Classica, Essen, Germany
1st - 4th April 2004

Tour de France Auto, France
19th - 24th April 2004

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