The annual highlight of the American historic racing season is the Monterey Historic Automobile Races weekend. This year's running was no exception with a wide variety of open wheeled and sports cars tearing through the legendary "cork screw". The feature of the 32nd 'Historics' was the Great American Specials with emphasis on the Chaparral entries. Among the highlights on track were the CanAm cars and many colourful specials. To the joy of all us purists all cars out on track were livered in their original colours and sponsor livery.
Three of our photographers were on site to capture this partly foggy and partly sunny event in a full report and a mouth watering 220-shot slideshow. The magnitude of the Historics inspired our technical staff to completely redesign our slideshow viewer, which is easier to navigate and now features larger (1024x768) slides. Enjoy!

After eight very busy days, the 2005 Frankfurt Motorshow (IAA) closed its doors for the last time yesterday. Last week we already showcased eight of the show's highlights, and after we went through the pile of press kits handed out to us at the show it is time for a second bunch of IAA novelties. Usually the media receive plenty of previews through actual pictures or sketches of what's to expect at an upcoming show, making surprises very rare. Mini managed to keep their Concept Frankfurt a secret, which was one of this year's very few surprise unveilings.
More exciting news came from Hall 1, which is reserved for specialized manufacturers and tuners. Brabus continued the horsepower craze with the aptly named CLS Rocket. Powered by a 730 bhp V12, it is electronically limited at a 'safe' 350 km/h. Also using Mercedes Benz mechanicals, Fisker Coachbuild took the wraps off the Tramonto.
One of Germany's most distinctive manufacturers is Wiesmann, which have made quite a name for themselves with their roadsters. In Frankfurt the production version of the all new V8 GT coupe took centre stage.
Although not really Frankfurt related we did not want to keep this from you: news hit our desk this morning of a new Bentley to be launched next year. Dubbed the Continental GTC, it is the third version of the successful W12 engined luxury GT.

In recent years the auctions and sales preceding the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance have become increasingly prominent. All auction houses try to make the most of the high concentration of millionaires that The Concours attracts. Many of the catalogues read like a what-is-what in the classic car business with the likes of Ferrari, Duesenberg, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin all strongly represented. In this year's sales, two of coach builder Figoni & Falaschi's bodied Talbot Lagos took centre stage. Their legendary 'tear drop' shape is among the most famous of all 1930s designs. The unique Ferrari 250 GT Breadvan hybrid was offered for the first time in almost twenty years, an occasion for which some of our readers crossed the country to witness.
We have found time in our busy schedule to attend five of the auctions and sales and have summarized the offered lots in a report and 125 shot slideshow. Included are the Blackhawk Exposition, the Christie's auction of Exceptional Motor Cars at the Jet Center, the Bonham's sale of Collector's Motor cars, the RM Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction and the Gooding & Company Pebble Beach Auction.

After last week's coverage of the 61st Frankfurt Motorshow (IAA) we will take a first look at the newly unveiled cars in this week's update. A new Porsche model is a rare occasion, so the Cayman S unveiling was highly anticipated. More than just a fixed-head Boxster, the Cayman S is true no-nonsense sportscar. Quick to respond, BMW took the wraps off a potential competitor for the Porsche: the Z4 Coupe Concept, which should be very similar to the planned production car. Long term BMW modifiers, Alpina, were represented on the show-floor in force with the newly developed B6 Cabriolet.
Italy's high-end manufacturers showed a number of new versions of their current model line-up. Lamborghini chopped the roof off the Gallardo to form the Gallardo Spyder, which also benefits from the 20 bhp power increase available for all Gallardos in 2006. On the Maserati stand three versions of the highly successful Quattroporte were shown, of which the lighter Sport GT was the most exciting. With the popular Ferrari Challenge, the Italian marque gives its customers the opportunity to race a Ferrari in a one-make series. Based on the current mid-engined coupe, the F430 Challenge will make its debut in the series in 2006.

This Saturday the doors of the Frankfurt Motorshow (IAA) will open for the public. In the past three days the press was given a preview of the dozens of new releases. Scattered throughout the nine halls all major manufacturers were present with their latest models. Our photographic team was on the floor equipped with their Canons and best walking shoes to capture the news as it unfolded.
One of the most important releases was the introduction of the revised Mercedes Benz flagship S-Class. Popular novelties were the Porsche Cayman S and BMW Z4 Coupe sportscars. A continuing trend is the focus on alternative fuel systems.
We captured our thoughts in a report, highlighting the most interesting news and we selected our 225 best shots for a slideshow.

Before we'll bring you all the news from the Frankfurt Motorshow (IAA) later this week, we take a look at some of the finest vehicles displayed or raced at the various events our photographers have visited this year.
From the recent action-packed Monterey weekend come three featured vehicles. First up is the beautiful Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, which was displayed on the meticulous Pebble Beach green. The impressive Rolls Royce Phantom III Vesters & Meirinck Coupe is pictured at the Blackhawk display. The Chaparral 1 was the very first of a line of legendary racers, which were celebrated at the Monterey Historics.
Shown at other concours d'elegance around the world were the unique Ferrari 212/225 Inter Touring Barchetta, a Maserati A6G/54 2000 Zagato Coupe and the very rare Kaiser Darrin.
European GT racing saw the introduction of two new racers this season. First campaigned in 2004, the Panoz Esperante GTLM made a promising Le Mans debut after it scored its first ALMS win. An impressive privateer effort resulted in the only fully homologated Porsche 996 GT1, which in its most recent outing scored its first podium finish.

Next Monday the doors of the huge Frankfurt Messe will open for the thousands of journalists attending the first of three press preview days of the 61st Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (IAA). Around 1000 exhibitors from 44 different countries will be present to showcase a total of 122 world premieres. To house this automotive extravaganza the organisers will have to utilize the full 215.000 sqm of exhibition grounds available, making good hiking shoes a necessity for the attending journalists and spectators. We will be among the journalists to capture the news as it unfolds and bring you our familiar in depth motorshow coverage.
To get you into the groove for the upcoming motorshow, we take a first look at some of the novelties to be unveiled next week. These include the imposing Audi Q7, the all-new Jaguar XK, the 510 bhp Mercedes Benz ML 63 AMG and the funky Peugeot 20Cup.