Heaven’s Gate
As manual modern sports cars become ever more scarce, many petrol heads are looking back to the early 2000s for their three-pedal thrills, and arguably none can compare to the gated bliss found in a manual Ferrari F430, just like this Rosso Scuderia example from 2005. Many will know that this was the very last mid-engined manual Ferrari, with the 458 that replaced it making flappy paddles mandatory, so this F430 represents the pinnacle of three-pedal prancing horses.
As one of just 90 ever equipped with a manual gearbox from the Maranello, this F430 isn’t just incredibly rare, it’s also in fabulous condition with 23,302 miles on the clock. The Nero leather interior looks practically spotless, leaving any lucky driver to focus exclusively on that bright yellow rev gauge and the V8 symphony emanating from behind their head. We don’t give out financial advice, but we suspect this won’t be a bad place to park your hard earned cash.
Giallo GT2
Porsche are famous for their almost infinite library of Paint-to-Sample colours, with fan favourites like Rubystone Red, Brewster Green, and of course, Speed Yellow all available. However, this 1996 Porsche 993 GT2 Clubsport’s first owner wasn’t about to slap any old shade on his one-of-twenty unicorn, and somehow convinced the men manning Stuttgart’s spray booth to finish his 911 in Ferrari Yellow.
As a refresher, the 993 GT2 was built as a homologation special to allow Porsche to go racing in the FIA GT2 class with a turbocharged 911. Equipped with a 430bhp twin turbocharged 3.6-litre Mezger flat-six, the 993 GT2 was already something of a missile on track, and the Clubsport package added a full welded roll cage, six-point racing harnesses, a battery cut-off switch, a full fire extinguishing system and bucket seats. As far as air-cooled 911s go, they simply don’t get more ballistic than this.
Hot Steppin’
Boasting heart-meltingly gorgeous Bertone bodywork, racing pedigree, and a frankly ludicrous curb weight of just 740kg, there are many reasons to fall in love with this 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA. Only 14 right-hand-drive examples of these featherweights were built, boasting bodywork made of a cutting edge alloy dreamt up by Alfa’s Servizio Esperienze Carpenteria that employed a mix of aluminium, magnesium, manganese, copper and zinc.
This example, chassis AR 752540, still wears its classical original colour combination of Rosso paint over a Nero interior, with which it successfully competed in the Trans-American Sedan Championship in the late 1960s. Fastidiously maintained and prepared by its current custodian with bills totalling over 225,000 euros, this light-footed Stepnose would be a fabulous way to get involved in historic racing, or simply an excellent addition to any collection.
V12 for Two
Maybe we were all still delirious from Covid, but for some reason the early 2020s saw many of the biggest automotive names release their own take on the windshield-free supercar recipe. Ferrari gifted the world the SP1 and SP2 Monza, McLaren released the Elva, and then came Aston Martin’s contender: the gorgeous V12 Speedster. Inspired by the Aston Martin DBR1 that won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, just 88 of these open-cockpit two seaters were built, making it one of the marque’s rarest creations.
This factory-fresh example was finished in December 2021 before being delivered in late 2023, this V12 Speedster is finished in Aston Martin Racing Green with Clubsport White roundels over a Conker saddle leather interior with Viridian Green and Caithness leather accents. Owned by one family since new and showing just 46 kilometres on the clock, wouldn’t you just love to don one of the two accompanying Aston Martin Racing Green helmets and listen to that 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 sing?
Racing Bull
Maybe it’s just us, but we’ve always associated Lamborghini with greatest poster cars on the planet, not necessarily racing podiums and champagne. However, in 1989, the Bolognese firm made its foray into Formula One, enlisting the help of famed Ferrari racing engineer Mauro Forghieri to design and build a new V12 engine to take on the very best in motorsport. Thus the 3.5L Lamborghini LE3512 V12 was born and soon saw praise from the likes of Ayrton Senna and Mika Häkkinen during testing with McLaren for its divine noise and impressive performance, with power ranging between 600 and 750 horsepower depending on the tune.
Shortly after testing, the engine found its way into the Lola Lamborghini LC89, which competed in the 1989 and 1990 Formula One seasons with Michele Alboreto, Éric Bernard, Philippe Alliot, and Aguri Suzuki behind the wheel. This particular chassis is one of less than 16 racers equipped with the engine in-period, and while it may have not frequented the top step of the podium, it at least sounded and looked fantastic during its all-too-brief Formula One career.
