Although Ferrari is one of the most successful Formula 1 teams in history, there have been several very bleak periods in the 1970s and 1990s. In the 1950s and '60s, the manufacturer was dominant in a large number of racing classes and combined that with a strong presence in F1. In the early 1970s the sport became so specialized that Ferrari decided to focus solely on single seater racing. Under the leadership of a very young Luca di Montezemelo the team returned to the forefront. The first sign of good things to come was the Mauro Forghieri designed 312 B3/74, which was driven to three victories in 1974. In the following seasons, developments of this beautiful machine dominated the sport.
After his first spell at Ferrari, Di Montezemelo returned to Fiat and was involved in a variety of prestigious external projects including the organization of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. His services were called upon once more to replace the late Enzo Ferrari in 1991. He was now in charge of the entire Ferrari operation, but still gave racing success top priority. With the help of the newly hired team manager Jean Todt and what was to become the last V12-engined Ferrari F1, the 412 T2, the team had one of the most successful seasons in many years. Several examples of both cars are pictured in action on the Monaco track during the Historic Grand Prix earlier this year.

Since the late 1950s, British teams have been on the forefront of Grand Prix racing, but before that there was an amazing three decade drought. After WWII a large number of talented and rich people founded British Racing Motors (BRM) to take on the dominant Italians. Sadly they failed miserably, but one of the original founders, Tony Vandervell, persevered and gradually worked his way up the ladder first with modified Ferraris and later with cars of his own. Combining the design talents of Colin Chapman and Frank Costin and the driving skills of Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss, the Vanwall succeeded where many others had failed. Amazingly almost every component of the car was designed and constructed in-house, including the fascinating fuel-injected engine and the cutting edge spaceframe chassis. Forgotten by most people, the beautiful Vanwall deserves a lot more credit than it receives today.
After working for Bertone and Ghia and at only 27 years of age Giorgietto Giugiaro set up shop for himself. He knew his first independent design needed to be something special, so he commissioned one of Giorgietto Bizzarrini's mid-engined chassis. The resulting three-seat Manta was indeed very special. Recently restored, the V8-engined Manta has a unique provenance as an ex-Le Mans racer and the very first ItalDesign work. More V8 power today in the form of the highly successful AMC Javelin Trans-Am racer. To be homologated for Trans-Am racing, all performance parts had to be made available to the general public and as a result the 1970 model year Javelins could be factory equipped with Porsche 917 brakes.
To build up the anticipation for the upcoming Detroit Motorshow (NAIAS), Chrysler released teaser sketches of their upcoming Chrysler Nassau and Jeep Trailhawk concepts. Here in Europe the eyes are on Essen this week and we will be on the show floor on Thursday to not only capture the latest tuner trends, but also the promised historic Grand Prix and Le Mans display. To get you in the mood we have included the 730 bhp Brabus CL V12 S Biturbo in this week's update.

Many rally fans look back at the Group B years with melancholy, but very few know that there was an even more extreme class proposed to replace Group B in 1987. Known as Group S, homologation could be achieved with only ten examples produced, so it was effectively open to prototypes. Unfortunately, because of tragedies Group S was abandoned and for 1987 the much more docile Group A class was used for the World Championship. Only one car was ever produced following the Group S regulations; the Lancia ECV, which is short for Experimental Composite Vehicle. It featured a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and a twin-turbocharged four cylinder engine, making it the most extreme rally car ever. Talking of the 'most ever'; today we also take a look at the Lotus 30, which can be considered the worst Lotus ever made even though it's still a race winner. The British company has always excelled in building small engined sportscars that could take on much more powerful competition. With the 30 they tried to join the big boys, but the backbone chassis was simply not up to the task. The featured car is one of the second series that was slightly better than the original version.
It's been a busy week at Volkswagen with the announcement of two interesting novelties. First up is the Neeza Concept, which was designed and developed in China and recently launched at the Beijing Motor Show. At the end of the month a second addition to the R-series will be unveiled in Essen in the form of the 300 bph Passat R36. Mazda released the first sketch of the Nagare Concept set to debut shortly in LA.
Swiss engineer Georges Roesch proved in the early 1930s that racing cars did not have to be complex or noisy to be successful with his Talbots. This week we take a closer look at one of the three Talbot 90 Works cars and the only one to have survived in the original condition.

Even though the company turned a profit for the first time ever last year, these are hectic times for Aston Martin. Not too long ago Ford revealed that the company was up for sale and only yesterday rumours surfaced that Aston could make a return to Formula 1 in 2008. One of their future models will make its debut today on the big screen alongside James Bond during the premiere of the motion picture Casino Royale. As the icing on the cake the company will launch the fifth model in their already impressive line-up; the V8 Vantage Roadster. As the name suggests, this is the drop-top version of the very popular V8 Vantage launched in Geneva last year.
When we received the news of the new Aston convertible, we went through our archives in search of a fitting classic for this update. We stumbled upon the DB2/4 Mk II Touring Spider, which was launched to universal acclaim exactly fifty years ago. Compared to the conservative bodies that came standard on the DB2 range, the lines of this Italian design are remarkably elegant. It is even more surprising that only three were built, even though both Touring and Aston Martin were ready for more orders.

In the early 1960s Enzo Ferrari was at the height of his power with successes on the track and commercially as well. During those years many attempted to take the 'Commendatore' on, but very few succeeded. Today we take a look at two successful challengers. First up is the Ford GT Prototype, which was one of the twelve prototypes that were part of Ford's vast program. The featured car is one of the very rare survivors of the development cars. In the third year of the program, Ford relieved Ferrari as the dominant force at Le Mans. Tractor manufacturer Ferruccio Lamborghini turned from a loyal customer of Ferrari road cars to a competitor within a few years with his highly advanced 350 GT. Two 350 GT chassis were sent to Zagato to be fitted with a new coupe bodywork to form the 3500 GTZ. The pictured car is the only survivor of the two.
One of the most unusual manufacturers of today is Bristol and last week they announced the expansion of their line-up with the awesome 1012 bhp Bristol Fighter T. With the Volvo Carsto V8 Speedster Leif Tufvesson proved that the term 'Hot Rod' is not exclusively American. Set to be launched at Detroit in January this year, Mitsubishi released the first picture of the next generation Lancer
Cooper had also been a successful Ferrari challenger, but by the time they produced the BRM-engined T86B, they were struggling. It proved to be the last of the line and within a decade after winning the World Championship, Cooper was forced to retire from Formula 1.

Although Enzo Ferrari's very long life (in motor racing) was highlighted by uncountable successes, he was by no means spared from tragedy. The many drivers that lost their lives while racing for the 'Old Man' left deep marks, but the biggest loss was that of his son Alfredo 'Dino' Ferrari in 1956 at the age of just 23. On his death-bed he was still busy working on a new V6 engine together with the legendary Vittorio Jano. As a tribute to his late son, Enzo decided that the new V6 was to be named Dino. At first there were only Dino racing cars, but in the seventies the badge was used for the more 'affordable' model in the range, which today is represented by the V8-engined F430.
Surprisingly the fiftieth anniversary of Dino's untimely passing has gone by seemingly unnoticed. Until today that is. We would like to pay tribute by taking a look at two of the earliest Dino models. First up is the 246 F1 Dino, raced in Formula 1 between 1958 and 1960. The Dino engine's surplus in power was enough to fight off the more agile British competition in 1958, but in the following two years the new mid-engined racers caught up and overtook the Ferraris. In 1960, the featured car scored the final F1 victory for a front-engined car in the hands of Phil Hill. Also suffering from the mid-engined revolution, the 196 S Dino never managed to live up to its incredible good looks. Effectively a mini Testa Rossa, this car was predominantly raced in North America by the Rodriguez brothers.

After two weeks of French frolics, we felt it was now time to take at two Italian stallions. Having not missed a season of Formula 1 since the category's inception in 1950, Ferrari has gone through many highs and even more lows. This week we would like to take a closer look at the Ferrari 312/67 F1, which may not have been a sportive success, but it sure is good looking. Especially the elaborate white 'spaghetti' exhausts would not look out of place in any art gallery. Even before setting up his own shop, Enzo Ferrari had in Maserati one of his biggest rivals. Although formed by four brothers, Alfieri Maserati was the engineering genious behind many of the early successes. He suddenly died in 1932, but the remaining brothers continued. One of the first new cars to be built after his death is the Maserati 8C 3000, which was driven to victory in the 1933 French Grand Prix.
Today Maybach announced the expansion of their range with the 612 bhp V12-engined 62 S model. Where the already available 57 S is intended for the owner/driver, the latest addition should be enjoyed from the back-seat. Twelve cylinder engines are still quite exotic nowadays, but eighty years ago they were available to world's ultra rich only. One of the most exclusive of these was no doubt, the Daimler Double Six, which was the preferred ride of many royals. This week we want to highlight the unique Double Six 40/50 Walter Sport Saloon, which won 'Best of Show' at Pebble Beach in 1999.
One of the big successes of this year's racing season was the newly formed GT3 class. In Britain the Cadena entered Lotus Exige was particularly successful and to commemorate the success Lotus launched the limited edition Exige S British GT. Next year Jaguar will join the fray and we have the first sketches of the XKR GT3 to be used.

For many decades customizing has been an essential part of American motoring; whether it's a 'chopped' 1930s Ford or just a set of different wheels, the Americans take great pride in their personalized 'rides'. The manufacturers of these aftermarket products gather annually in Las Vegas for the annual SEMA (Speciality Equipment Market Association) Show. Yesterday the doors opened for the fortieth edition. Joining the hundreds of booths with specialized products are the mainstream manufacturers, who proudly display highly modified versions of their (current) production cars. Today we would like to take a closer look at some of these striking one-offs.
At both the Dodge and Ford stands the glory days of the American muscle car were celebrated with the HEMI engined Dodge Challenger Super Stock and Ford Mustang BOSS 302 respectively. One of the most interesting vehicles was on display on the General Motors stand; the EcoJet Concept. Commissioned by talk show host and prominent collector Jay Leno, this remarkable machine combines a 650 bhp EcoDiesel fueled Turbine engine with a Corvette Z06 chassis and current Cadillac styling elements. Volkswagen and Volvo took the hot-hatch approach with the Golf based 400 bhp R GTI Concept and the new C30 based 300 bhp HS3 Thor Concept.
Mitsubishi used the SEMA Show to unveil their brand new contender for the gruelling Baja rally; the Baja Raider. At the Honda stand the new limited edition, 200 bhp Civic Mugen Si Sedan took centre stage.