Founded in 2010, it seems that Vencer is seeking to better the efforts of struggling compatriot Spyker Cars by releasing its own low-volume bespoke supercar: the Sarthe. Named after the region in France where the Le Mans 24 Hours is held, the car will be powered by an eight-cylinder motor producing 503bhp and 480lb ft of torque, which apparently facilitates a 0-62mph sprint of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of over 200mph.
The American was well-known for his love of fast cars, his on-screen success giving him the means to buy a huge number of the world’s finest, including Porsches, a Siata, a Jaguar XKSS and several Ferraris.
This one was purchased in San Francisco when McQueen was filming Bullitt and converted to a ‘N.A.R.T. Spider’ replica by a later owner in the 1980s. Under the strict originality criteria of the Ferrari Classiche programme, it therefore had to be returned to the specification in which it left Maranello in the late-1960s, i.e. a coupé.
Every day on Facebook the Classic Driver page is updated with the latest entries. Facebook members can ‘like’ their favourites and the big news is that every month from now on, Classic Driver will be releasing the top ten ‘most-liked’ cars.
If supercar-makers were into playground politics (perish the thought), one can imagine McLaren gleefully pointing out that this beats the new SLS AMG GT by 34PS and, with a 0-62mph time of just 3.1 seconds, leaves the Mercedes (3.7 seconds) standing at the traffic lights. But, of course, we’re sure that such thoughts were the furthest thing from McLaren’s mind when the marque put out a press release just days after Mercedes issued theirs.
Ercole Spada, the stylist of the 1960s DB4GT bodied by Zagato, has penned a roadster version for Icon, running on modern Aston Martin V12 mechanicals but with the lines of the original very much apparent.
The styling sketch you see here shows a car in the spirit of the first DB4GT with curving, lightweight Zagato bodywork. Making it a roadster is an added twist on a well-known shape, and for those who say that removing the roof from such an iconic design is blasphemy, well, the laid-back Californians at Icon probably don’t really care.
Today, the Porsche Carrera 2.7 RS is regarded as one of the ultimate sports cars of all time and is arguably the most important 911 ever built. With its classic rear ducktail spoiler, special livery and uniquely flared rear arches, it has often been replicated – so great is its popularity among Porsche fans. However, no one will ever mistake this black right-hand-drive model for anything but the real thing.
The uprated model is known as the SLS AMG GT, and aims to offer better driving dynamics and an even sportier experience behind the wheel. Aside from the increase in power and more rapid performance figures, the more extreme nature of the GT model is illustrated by the new AMG ‘Ride Control Performance’ suspension, which promises stiffer spring/damper tuning – and dispenses with the Comfort mode altogether.
There are, what, 50 or 60 cars here? “Je ne sais pas,” replies the merry Frenchman, who at first sight appears to be closely related to Rumpelstiltskin – and who is absolutely crazy about cars. Just outside his patch of Provence sits a Mercedes Stricht Acht coupé that was probably parked there sometime in the 1970s and, by the look of it, hasn’t moved since.