At next month's Los Angeles Motor Show, Porsche will reveal this Boxster Spyder. Based on the current Boxster S model, the new Spyder is a tribute to Porsche's legendary racing cars from the 1950s like the 550 RS Spyder from 1955 or the 718 RS 60 Spyder built five years later. The most obvious visual change on the 2010 Spyder is the rear deck, which sports two bumps instead of the fold-down roof found on the regular production model. In the spirit of the early racing cars, a very rudimentary cloth roof can be used but it only offers minimal weather protection. The interior is equipped with the bare minimum and includes racing touches like the straps to open the doors. Performance is also up compared to the standard Boxster courtesy of a considerable drop in the weight and an additional 10 bhp from the direct injection flat six. The Boxster Spyder will be available from February 2010.
BMW also revealed the first details of a special, lightweight edition of one of their current models today. Dubbed the M3 GTS, the new BMW is even more extreme than the aforementioned Porsche. The GTS features a completely stripped interior, a larger and more powerful engine and an aggressive body-kit. The most fundamental change is the introduction of a 4.4 litre version of the highly acclaimed M3 V8. It produces 450 bhp, which is transferred to the rear wheels through a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox. Weight is down to 1490 kg or 3285 lbs. According to BMW the car is suited for use on the road but can also be campaigned on track, in 'Clubsport' events. The M3 GTS may also serve to homologate new bits for the M3 GTR GT2 racer that is expected to feature more prominently on the world's racing tracks in 2010.

Yesterday the annual aftermarket extravaganza, the Speciality Equipment Manufacturers Association Show (SEMA Show), opened its doors in Las Vegas, Nevada. The major manufacturers traditionally also have a strong presence on the floor to showcase their aftermarket bits on specifically created show cars. Although slightly more modest, the big three were once again well represented in Las Vegas. Today we take a look at three of their best offerings.
General Motors brought out various Camaro based concepts. Our favourite was this Camaro Jay Leno Concept, built for the Late Night Talk Show Host it is named after. It is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the direct injection V6 found in the base model. The turbos have lifted the power to a commendable 425 bhp but the engine is nevertheless capable of very frugal driving. Needless to say, it also sports a more aggressive body-kit.
Both Ford and Chrysler presented drag-racing inspired machinery. The special Mustang FR500 Cobra Jet on display provides a preview of the upcoming 50-car production run of the Mustang drag-racers. It is less likely that the Dodge Moper Challenger 1320 will make to the quarter-mile or 1320 feet strips.
Every time we go out to visit events we expand our archives with more photography and quite often we get new opportunities to shoot cars that have already been featured on Ultimatecarpage.com. This week we have updated our features on two great cars with some of the new material. The first is the Lancia D24, which one of the great sports racers of its day. It was particularly successful in the great road races, taking the outright victory in the Carrera Panamericana, Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. The pictured example is one of two survivors and the only one in private hands. Where the Lancia was the last of the line, the M19A brought McLaren back to their winning ways in 1972. We first saw Denny Hulme's South African Grand Prix winner at the 2006 Monaco Historic Grand Prix where it was damaged in an accident. Fortunately, it was fully repaired two years later so we had another opportunity to shoot the successful Formula 1 racer.

During the mid-1950s Ferrari experimented with a wide variety of engines in the company's sports racer, including straight fours and sixes. For the Italian manufacturer's assault on the 1956 World Championship, Ferrari settled on using virtually identical four and twelve cylinder engined machines. Both cars shared the exact same chassis and a similarly styled, Scaglietti built aluminium body.
The more successful of the two was the V12-engined 290 MM, which was driven to a debut victory in the Mille Miglia by Eugenio Castellotti. The great Juan Manuel Fangio finished fourth behind two of the four cylinder engined cars in another 290 MM. Later in the year Phil Hill and Maurice Trintignant added a second win to the 290 MM's tally in only its third major race. The final World Championship win for the 3.5 litre sports racer came early in 1957 during the Buenos Aires 1000 km race. Three examples were originally built and one of the four cylinder engined cars was later converted to V12 specification. All three cars that have survived are featured in our detailed article. Among them are the cars driven to victory in the Mille Miglia and the Buenos Aires 1000 km.
The sister 860 Monza had an equally impressive first outing, with a one-two victory in the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours. During the remainder of the season, the big fours supported Ferrari's chase for the championship with valuable podium finishes. With three very convincing wins in the five rounds, Ferrari was deservedly crowned World Champion at the end of the 1956 season. We caught up with the Sebring winning example some years ago at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where we snapped this 12-shot gallery.

Today Abarth is best known for its modified Fiat models but amidst modifying other manufacturers' cars, the Italian tuning expert also built complete cars. The very first was this 205 Vignale Berlinetta, which was driven to a debut class victory in the 1950 Coppa InterEuropa at Monza. The small coupe combined Fiat mechanicals with a bespoke platform chassis and a Giovanni Michelotti-penned Vignale body. Two cars were raced in the major Italian events in 1950 with mixed success. After a third example was built early in 1950, Abarth withdrew from racing and concentrated on their hugely popular tuning kits. Quite unusual for cars of this era, all three have survived. The first was fully restored in the 1980s and has been a regular at shows ever since. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed the second chassis made its debut after a thorough restoration to rectify numerous modifications made during its long racing career. We expect to see the third car in the very near future in restored condition as well. For now we have a compiled an 18-shot gallery of the first two to illustrate the model's general history and a detailed look at the individual chassis.
Leading NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports celebrates it 25th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, Callaway Cars have produced a limited edition Hendrick Motorsports 25th Anniversary Camaro. Based on the stock Camaro SS, it features an Eaton supercharger that boosts the power to a hefty 582 bhp. The modified Camaro can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and is capable of completing the quarter-mile in under 12 seconds. The first of 25 examples will be shown next week during the SEMA Show.

During the 1930s the eight-cylinder engined Alfa Romeos won all major races in Europe multiple times. Especially on home turf, in the grueling Mille Miglia Alfa Romeo was nearly unbeatable. An 8C 2300 scored its first win in the 1000 mile race in 1932 and an 8C 2900B claimed victory as late as 1947. There are two distinct generations of the 8C model, the second of which was the 8C 2900 launched in 1936 with an enlarged engine and independent suspension. For that year's Mille Miglia, the Scuderia Ferrari team entered four examples of the new version. This 8C 2900A Botticella Spider was driven to victory by Antonio Brivio. At the end of the season it was renumbered and sold as a road car. A new racing car with the same chassis number was built for the 1937 edition and won again. So much to the historians' delight two different 8C 2900As with the same number won the 1936 and 1937 Mille Miglias. Simon Moore, the foremost historian of 8C Alfas, revealed the full history of the featured example and accordingly it was restored back to its Mille Miglia winning configuration.
During the 1970s Alfa Romeo's racing record was a little more varied but the Italian manufacturer did manage to win the 1975 World Sportscar Championship in great style with the 33 TT/12 Spider, powered by a three-litre flat-12. A year later that same engine was supplied exclusively by Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham Formula 1 team. The purpose built BT45 did not prove quite as successful. Its similarly engined successor did manage to win two Grands Prix. Only very few Brabhams of the 'Bernie era' have made it into private hands but at least one of the BT45s has. Fully prepared for historic racing, the Alfa engined Brabham was captured by us during the 2008 Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
During this weekend's season finale of the DTM championship Volkswagen launched the all new Scirocco Cup. Replacing the existing Polo Cup, it will be used in a one-make series to support the DTM races from 2010 onwards. Running on compressed natural gas, Volkswagen claim it is one of the cleanest racing cars out there today.