With competition proven chassis and superbly designed custom coachwork the French cars of the 1930s are regarded as the finest ever constructed. Unfortunately only very few of these great names returned after the War and only Talbot Lago managed to introduce a brand new model.
Built around a highly advanced twin cam engine, the new T26 was available as a road car and a racing car. The base model road car was known as the 'Record' and the range was topped by the high performance, short wheelbase 'Grand Sport'. Only 36 of these are known to have been constructed. Today we take a closer look at one of the second series of cars that used a slightly longer wheelbase. The featured T26 GS used a highly attractive and very striking coupe body designed and built by Jacques Saoutchik.
In 1948 Talbot Lago entered Grand Prix racing with the T26C, which as the name suggests is very closely related to production road cars. It featured a narrower and slightly shorter version of the Grand Sport chassis and proved immediately successful. In addition to winning many minor and local open wheel races, the T26C racked up two Grand Prix wins in 1949. In 1950 season a cycle fendered sports racer was developed, which promptly scored a victory in that year's 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The pictured T26C was one of the final four Grand Prix cars built in 1950 and placed fourth in the first Formula 1 World Championship race.
The T26 remains as the last of a great line of French road cars and the very last racing car to win both a Grand Prix and a major endurance sports car race.

One of the stars of last year's Geneva Motor Show was the Maserati GranTurismo. Since then it has received universal acclaim for its Pininfarina styling and great handling capabilities. There were some complaints from journalists about the lack of punch from the engine and the poor support from the seats. Maserati have taken the remarks to heart and set about developing the even more focused GranTurismo S. First seen in the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, the new Maserati comes equipped with a 440 bhp 4.7 litre of the familiar V8 engine. On the outside the S can be distinguished from the base model by a more aggressive bodykit and the MC12 derived wheels. Inside, the hip hugging alcantara seats form the biggest improvement.
British sportscar manufacturer Caterham today announced the addition of a brand new engine to the classic Seven range. Developed by RS Performance, it is not just any other engine; it is a 40 valve, 2.4 litre V8. In naturally aspirated trim, it is good for 400 bhp and with forced induction it produces over 500 bhp. This engine will be available in the RS 'Levante' model that will be built in a limited edition of just eight examples. With over 1000 bhp per ton, this Caterham has an incredible power to weight ratio. Fortunately the car comes complete with a two-day track-training course to help the lucky owners to tame the incredibly potent beast.

In a weeks time the doors of the Geneva Expo will open for the annual Auto Salon. Arguably the most prestigious of all major shows, the Swiss show attracts the most exclusive marques as well as all main stream manufacturers. The presence of all the high-end brands inspires the likes of Peugeot, MINI and Renault to pull out all the stops as well. For today's update we have compiled a full list with known Geneva debuts and highlight the most recent additions to that list.
The aforementioned three manufacturers will also release high performance versions of their recently introduced production cars. Peugeot has the 175 bhp 308 GT, MINI will unveil the similarly engined, but slightly more powerful Clubman John Cooper Works and Renault will expand their Laguna range with the impressive GT.
Of course the environment will be an important theme in Geneva, which is also reflected in the green poster. One of the last manufacturer's one would expect a cutting edge hydrogen powered 'green machine' from is the very retro Morgan, but their LIFECar concept car fits right in the green trend. With the support of several British companies and research centres, Morgan constructed the �1.9 million clean supercar. BMW has also put green on the top of their agenda and will showcase the Vision EfficientDynamics, which combines a clean and very powerful diesel engine with an electric hybrid setup.
Our exclusive report of the Geneva International Motor Show will be published on Wednesday afternoon straight from the show floor.

Today we have added the 3000th car to the Ultimatecarpage.com database. This week the image counter also breached the 20,000 mark and we expect to add the 300th manufacturer within the next two weeks. We could have added a spectacular Ferrari or Bugatti to celebrate the occasion, but in good Ultimatecarpage.com tradition we would like highlight two much more obscure machines.
The first is the Allard J2C-X, which was one of the very last cars built for the Group C era. Although the unusual looking racing car was raced only once, it inspired a whole generation of designers. Many of the current prototype racers use aerodynamic elements that were first found on the J2X-C. In recent years the car has been fully restored and was finally given the credit it was due by a highly entertaining article on the excellent Mulsanne's Corner website.
At the recent Retromobile, we were completely taken by this Farman A6 B Super Sport Torpedo. After a little digging, we learnt that this was one of only four survivors of the 120 cars built by Farman in the 1920s. The French manufacturer rivaled Rolls Royce in quality and comfort, which they quaintly pointed out in their slogan; "a car rolls, a Farman glides."
To conclude the celebrations we have added ten brand new and exclusive wallpapers to our wallpaper section.

At the upcoming Geneva Motor Show the Italian manufacturers and design houses are set to steal the show. The hottest news right now is the possible introduction of a Bertone B.A.T. 11 in the style of the great Scaglione penned concept cars of the 1950s. As the information is still too sketchy to post an article about it we instead focus on two cars that have already been confirmed and are equally exciting.
First up is the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider. It is based off the 8C Spider Concept that was launched at Pebble Beach in 2005 and has only rarely been seen since. As with the fixed head version production will be limited to just 500 examples and the performance should be exhilarating courtesy of a Ferrari built 450 bhp V8 engine. The coupe sold out in no time, so if you are interested in the new 8C Spider now is the time to get your name down.
The big news of last year's show was the re-appearance of Abarth as a separate manufacturer and they look set to claim headlines again with their version of the new Fiat 500. Power comes from a tiny turbocharged four cylinder engine that produces a neat 135 bhp and over 200 Nm of torque in sport mode. Yet the hot hatch still meets the upcoming and very strict Euro 5 emission standards. To meet the demands of the serious boy and girl racers a 160 bhp SS or 'esse-esse' version is already under development.

Exactly two years after unveiling the 101EX Concept, Rolls-Royce will take the wraps off the production Phantom Coupe. The two door coupe's design is similar to the 2006 concept and the Drophead Coupe launched a year earlier. One of the most unusual cues is the starlight headliner, which hopefully is an optional extra. Unusual is something that can be applied to many of Frank Rinderknecht's creations, which are traditionally launched in Geneva. After building an amphibious vehicle a few years ago, he takes on step further with the Rinspeed sQuba Concept. As the name suggests, the two seater roadster seems to come straight out of Q's garage and can be used on the road as well as in and under water. Like all of Rinspeed's creations, the submarine/car is also environmentally friendly.
Last year Formula 1 was dominated by one of the biggest controversies of recent years, which eventually lead to the exclusion of McLaren from the constructor's championship. It was not the first time a team was punished so severely as in 1984 Tyrrell and its drivers were stripped of their points. Subject of that debate was the Tyrrel 012, which used a controversial water injection system. It was also the very last Cosworth DFV engined F1 car to be entered in a Grand Prix. Also making history is Force India, who will field the VJM01; the first Indian F1 car.
Ferrari's most successful engine is no doubt the Colombo designed V12 engine, which in three litre shape won every major sports car race between 1947 and 1964. In 1954, its days seemed numbered as the Italian manufacturer shifted focus to four and six cylinder engined machines. At that time the 250 Monza looked set to become the last Colombo V12 engined Ferrari.

Lotus founder Colin Chapman was one of motorsport's greatest designers and above all innovators. Especially in the 1960s and 1970s he successfully implemented a variety of a new mechanical and aerodynamic novelties. His revolutionary new racing cars did not always work the way Chapman had imagined, but when they did, they were world champions. One of his most successful designs was the Lotus 72, which was first raced in 1970. It defined the shape of the modern single seater by replacing the single nose radiator with two side radiators mounted in side pods. The 72 also featured a cutting edge suspension system that did not quite work well at its debut. After the problems were fixed, the chisel-shaped Lotus won four races in a row and went on to help Lotus secure 20 Grand Prix wins, three Constructor's and two Driver's Championships.
After the 72 finally lost its edge in the mid 1970s, Lotus struggled to create a suitable replacement. It took another revolution to bring Lotus back on top; ground effects. First seen on the Lotus 78 of 1977, this ground effects used the underside of the side pods to create downforce without a drag penalty. Chapman perfected his design for the Lotus 79 of 1978. Often named the most elegant Formula 1 car of the three-litre era, the 79 propelled Mario Andretti and Lotus to the Championships.
Both the Lotus 72 and Lotus 79 features are well illustrated with plenty of action shots of the cars on track.

This week Porsche launched two new racing cars based on the 911/997 GT3 road car. The most anticipated is the revised GT3 RSR model, which will compete in the GT2 class in all major sports car racing championships. Last year the 997 struggled against the faster Ferraris, so an upgrade was more than welcome. The new car features modified aerodynamics and a lighter gearbox based on the unit in the RS Spyder prototype racer. The other new addition to the line-up is the 997 GT3 Cup S, which is based on the RS version of the GT3 road car. It is built specifically to race in the popular GT3 class.
As Geneva is coming closer the pile of new releases is growing. A very interesting 'debutant' is the Lancia Delta. It sports a very similar design as the Delta HPE prototype launched in Paris back in 2006. It has to be a success to give Lancia a real chance of survival. Mercedes Benz has further expanded the revised SL line-up with the two AMG models; the V8-engined SL 63 and the V12-powered SL 65.
There are a variety of paths to racing success and one is to cram a very powerful engine into a lightweight chassis. This was common practice in the 1920s and one of the most subtle of these was the Bentley 'Blower'. Today we take a look at a highly original Gurney Nutting Speedster, which sold for a whopping $4.5 million at Pebble last year. One of the most extreme big engined sportscars of the 1960s was the Cheetah. Built in very small numbers to rival the Cobra, it sports a massive V8 engine mounted almost centrally in a spaceframe chassis. Unfortunately production and handling problems prevented this very mean machine to ever becoming a success.

Well before the doors of the 2008 Retromobile show in Paris first opened to the public at noon last Friday a crowd gathered in front of the Paris Expo exhibition centre. They were all anxious to see what Retromobile 2008 had in store for them. The heightened anticipation resulted from the previous 32 editions of the show which always features rare, unusual and spectacular historic cars. Needless to say this year was no exception.
Bonhams grabbed the headlines early in the nine day show by hosting a �10 Million auction. Top seller was a Mercedes Benz 680 S Saoutchik Torpedo, which found a new owner for well over �2 million. Further highlights were oddities like a Bugatti Type 101 and one of just five remaining Farmans.
Scattered across two halls were almost 300 booths filled with motor cars, automobilia, literature and parts. Many of them housed exceptional machines like a Ferrari 330 P, the ex-Fangio 1957 Nurburgring GP winning Maserati 250 F and the Delahayes that finised 1-2 at Le Mans in 1938 to name just a few.
Like many other enthusiasts our reporters could not bare to miss an edition of Retromobile and they captured the show before the crowd flocked in on Friday. Their efforts have resulted in a full report and a 150-shot slideshow.

Yesterday the Chicago Auto Show opened its doors for the media and even though being sandwiched between the Detroit and Geneva shows welcomed quite a few exciting releases. Today we take a closer look at the two most interesting of these.
The most anticipated release was no doubt that of the all new Dodge Challenger. Chrysler has been responsible for much of the anticipation; ever since of the concept car's Detroit debut the newly independent company tried their hardest to hype it. Late last year, they released five teaser shots of parts of the car and opened the order books. That started an unprecedented run on the new car that climaxed at the recent Barrett-Jackson auction where the first example sold for a staggering $400,000. Now Dodge has finally taken the wraps off the SRT-8 version of the reborn muscle car.
A much bigger surprise was the introduction of a competition version of the current BMW M3 model. Although not officially named by the German company yet, we have for the time being stamped the familiar M3 GTR nomenclature on the new racer. Considering the fact that the previous M3 GTR had a similar four litre V8 engine as the current production road car, it was not completely unpredictable that a competition version was indeed in the works. The car will be developed by BMW's very talented squad of touring car drivers, headed by three time champion Andy Priaulx. The car will be run in the American Le Mans Series by Rahal-Letterman racing. The objective is to race the car at least from the start of the 2009 season, but we expect to make its debut in the final races of this year.

During the last weekend of January many 'tifosi' flocked to the Florida West Coast for the annual Cavallio Classic. Held in and around the jet-set town of Palm Beach the event includes both on track action and a concours d'elegance. The four day long extravaganza was kicked off at the Moroso Track with races for the Ferrari Maserati Challenge and also track time for a wide variety of road and racing Ferraris and Maseratis. On Saturday all eyes were on the front lawn of the exclusive Breakers Hotel for the concours d'elegance. Ferraris of all six decades of the company's rich heritage were lined up. The week was concluded on Sunday with a new event near the West Palm Beach airport; the Classic Sports Sunday. Although it is affiliated to the Cavallino Classic, this show welcomed sports cars from all manufacturers.
Our reporter Rob Clements already gave a small preview last week with the feature of this Ferrari 250 MM Vignale Spyder and now we have got our hands on his complete work. It has been sorted and processed into a full report and two slideshows with a total of 200 shots.

In a month's time, we will be in Geneva getting ready for the annual motor show, which is a highlight on the automotive calendar. One of the first companies to shed some light on their Geneva release is Italian design house Pininfarina, who will unveil the Sintesi Concept. Mitsubishi look set to follow Subaru's hatchback approach with the introduction of the Lancer based Prototype S, which is likely to be turned into a production car. At Mercedes Benz there will be several new machines on show, including a next generation SL. It clearly shares the same basic design with the predecessor, but many details like the headlights have been changed.
Among the last teams to launch their 2008 Formula 1 racer were Renault and Honda. For both teams, it will be a very important season. Honda can really only improve and with the arrival of tactical genius Ross Brawn the chances have improved. The environmentally conscious approach has been carried over to the new RA108. At Renault the return of an old friend was celebrated, while a new talent has moved in to join the champion. Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr. will race the Renault R28. At the F1 car launch Renault also took the wraps off the Twingo Sport.
To further highlight the introduction of our dedicated coachbuilders section we take a closer look at three very beautiful examples. The most famous is no doubt the Peugeot Darl'mat Roadster, which was built by Pourtout after a design by Georges Paulin. An absolute one-off is this Vignale bodied OSCA MT4, which combines a stylish coupe body with a racing car chassis. Built for a local fire marshal, the Duesenberg SJ 'Fishtail' Speedster received its Gordon Buehrig designed coachwork from the Weymann American Body Company.