With the introduction of the Z4 Coupe concept at the recent Frankfurt Motorshow, BWM already showed there was still plenty of life in the Z4. This is very powerfully underlined with the introduction of the Z4 M Roadster, which is equipped with the 343 engine found in the current M3 range. Some very wild concept cars were unveiled at this month's Tokyo Motorshow, but the prize for the most outrageous goes to the Mitsuoka Orochi Nude Top Roadster. Although there is little information available about it we did we did not want to keep it from you.
From the dawn of motoring the rich and famous were happy to spend some of their fortune on exotic vehicles. Maserati's 5000 GT was developed to accommodate the requests of the Shah of Persia, one of the richest men of the time and a keen motorist. Eventually only 32 examples of this super gran tourer were constructed, which shares its engine with the 450 S Sports Racer featured in last week's update. Italy's Benito Mussolini was also a very passionate driver and in 1935 he had Alfa Romeo build him an Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 with a unique Touring designed and built Cabriolet body. He did not only use the car himself, but he also entered it in the Mille Miglia for Ercolo Boratto to drive.
Ferrari have always been a prominent and sometimes dominant force in Formula 1 racing, but in the 1960s they were heartily challenged by various British manufacturers. In order to keep on top of things the Italians developed various engine configurations and in 1964 campaigned three completely different units. The most exotic, but least successful was the 1.5 litre flat 12 found in the 1512. Today we take a close look at one of three built, which made a rare appearance in the Christie's Monterey auction earlier this year.

Many of Porsche's racing successes have been scored in the gruelling 24 Hours of Le Mans race where the German company has been a dominating force since the 1970s. The first overall victory was scored with the 917 K in 1970 almost twenty years after the first Porsche was entered in the endurance race. In 1971 the twelve cylinder racer continued Porsche's Le Mans success and quickly grew to become one of the marque's most legendary cars.
Today we take a closer look at the 917's history illustrated in a 24-shot gallery. Four cars are captured by Wouter Melissen competing in the Classic Endurance racing series on two of Europe's finest tracks; Spa Franchorchamps and Monza. Enjoy!

Ferrari are well known for building delicate high revving V12 engines, but in the mid-1950s they campaigned some seriously big and powerful sports racers. Today we take a close look at one of the last of that great line of racers; the 410 S Scaglietti Spyder. Recently restored, the featured example took the best in class prize for competition Ferraris in this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. A year after the 410 S debuted, Ferrari's arch-rival Maserati took things up a notch with the 450S, which for many years remained the most powerful front engined sports racer. If it wasn't for the incredible bad luck that struck Maserati throughout the 1957 season, the advanced and powerful racer would have delivered the Italian marque their first sports car world championship. After their service as works racers concluded both the Ferrari 410 S and Maserati 450S were successfully campaigned in North American races, most prominently by Caroll Shelby.
In the last few weeks two major motorshows opened their doors, one in Tokyo and one in Sydney. Concept cars dominated the former and this week we examine two more; the rotary engined Mazda Senku and the diesel powered Volkswagen EcoRacer. In Sydney Ford took centre stage with the introduction of a new Falcon range. This was highlighted by the 394 bhp FPV GT-P model.
This week's news feature is rounded off by another Pebble entrant; the stunning Duesenberg SJ Rollson Fully Collapsible Town Car, which remains as the last and longest 'Duesey' built.

Over the years the bi-annual Tokyo Motorshow has focused mainly on concept car releases and this year's 39th running continues that trend. Today the first unveilings took place in the Japanese capital, where all eyes were on the Nissan GT-R Proto. According to Nissan the replacement of the iconic Skyline to be launched in 2007 will be styled very similar. Equally impressive is the Ferrari GG50 Concept, which is based on the 612 Scaglietti and celebrates Giugiaro's 50th anniversary as a designer.
For a second consecutive motorshow, Mini took the wraps off a concept vehicle and completely followed in line with the previous one as it's dubbed Mini Concept Tokyo. It's British heritage is underlined by the accessories consisting of a tea pot, cups and tea bags ready for a Sunday afternoon picnic.
At the Audi stand one of the rare all-new production vehicles was found in the shape of the V10 engined S8.

It's the dream of many enthusiasts to discover a classic car hidden away in a remote building somewhere in the world. These barn-finds have become increasingly rare and the featured Maserati Tipo 60 Birdcage was one of the most recent. It only resurfaced briefly in 2001 before it was auctioned off to its new owner who again kept this stunning racer out of the public eye. Thankfully he made an exception for this month's inaugural New York City Concours d'Elegance where Rob snapped a 12-shot gallery capturing all the patina still contained in this time-warp machine.
Last week the Sydney Motor Show opened its doors and one of the main attractions was the very retro Holden Efijy, which combines the styling of the '53 FJ Coupe with the power of a very modern supercharged Corvette chassis. On Wednesday the Tokyo Motorshow media days will kick off with a large number of interesting concept cars expected to be unveiled. We can already give the first details of two of these; the 250 bhp Audi Shooting Brake and the hydrogen powered Mercedes Benz F 600 Hygenius.
Two of the most remarkable designers of the last century were Colin Chapman and Gabriel Voisin. Chapman scored many successes with his Lotus Formula 1 racers in the 1960s and 1970s. His designs were not all winners as we discover with the Lotus 80 featured this week. Voisin might not be as well known, but his unconventional cars were once the first choice of royals and celebrities alike. This week we look at one of his most successful models; the Voisin C14.

The star car of this week's update has both a remarkable early history and a very impressive restoration story. Being the very first real Abarth, the featured 205 Abarth Vignale Coupe is a historic automobile and it was preserved as such. Until tragedy struck leaving it bent and dented after a fire destroyed the building it was stored in. The remains were sold to the present owner who spent many years salvaging and restoring the delicate body without using any new panels or filler. His stunning work can be seen in a 12-shot gallery.
Every generation has a number of automotive icons. For many growing up in the 1980s Lamborghini's Countach was one of them. Today we take a look at the final and wildest version; the very eighties 25th Anniversary. For the current video-game generation the icon comes from the land of the rising sun, the high tech Skyline. At next week's Tokyo Motorshow Nissan will finally present the next generation of this four wheel drive super coupe in the shape of the GT-R Proto. Although still a concept Nissan promises that the production version will look very similar.
When asked 'what is the finest Porsche racing car?', many enthusiasts will answer 'the 917' and will refer to its Le Mans victories. Few will mention the Porsche 908/2 of the same generation, which completely dominated the season before the 917's 1970 Le Mans victory. It combined stunning handling characteristics with rock solid reliability and was only a few yards away from the marque's first Le Mans win in 1969.

A high profile Concours d'Elegance is usually organized in an exclusive resort, but past events in Paris and London have proven that a metropolis is an equally suitable location. This was confirmed over the weekend when thousands of car enthusiasts gathered in New York's Central Park to attend the city's inaugural Concours d'Elegance. Contrasting the massive city around it, the event was very low key with no more than 50 cars on display at once in the Wollman Rink. The carefully selected line-up consisted of a number of former show winning vehicles, including the frequently awarded Horch 853A Sport Erdmann & Rossi Cabriolet and Ferrari 375 America Pinin Farina Coupe Speciale. These striking one-off exotics were joined by American Muscle and various racers. One of the true highlights was a recently discovered Tipo 60 Birdcage Maserati; a true time-warp example.
Equipped with his camera and tuxedo Rob Clements took off to the Big Apple to capture the event for us in full colour. He has turned his three days of snapping and yapping in a full report and 160 shot-slideshow.

One of the world's most famous annual road races was the Mille Miglia held in Italy between Rome and Brescia from 1927 to 1957. It was usually a local affair and Alfa Romeo was a frequent winner. Their 8C 2900 won four times in various guises and this week we take a look at the 8C 2900 MM Touring Spider that finished second behind a sister car in 1938. Today it's owned by fashion designer Ralph Lauren and recently was awarded a best in class victory at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. One of the key figures behind the Alfa Romeo dominance was Enzo Ferrari who was even more successful with his own company. Today we explore the spectacular 250 GT SWB Sperimentale, which was used as a testbed for the 250 GTO throughout 1961. Another legendary racing car manufacturer, Bugatti, focused on road car construction after dominating on tracks all over the world in the second half of the 1920s. Arguably their finest road car was the Type 57, which was available with a number of factory bodies, but also stunning custom coachwork like Type 57 Gangloff Cabriolet.
Although the Frankfurt show has only just closed its doors, new releases for the upcoming Tokyo show are already being announced. Organized bi-annually, the Japanese show is traditionally used by the local manufacturers to launch new model lines and cutting edge concept vehicles. Subaru will take the wraps off the B5-TPH Concept, the company's first hybrid. Over at the Mitsubishi stands all eyes will be on the Concept X, which is expected to be very similar to the replacement of the popular Lancer model.