At the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed Bugatti's centenary was celebrated in great style. There was a separate class for these French thoroughbreds, which featured not just the familiar Bugattis but also some very rare, rarely seen beauties. In today's update we take a look at four of these that span almost the entire Bugatti history
The earliest is this Type 18 Grand Prix. Built in 1912, it was raced by Ettore Bugatti himself at Le Mans and on the Mont Ventoux. Compared to the other Bugattis of the era, it has an unusually large engine and uses chains to drive the rear wheels. Fully restored to its 1912 condition, complete with a very long tail, the Type 18 was one of the most striking machines that drove up the hill this year.
Also raced at Le Mans, two decades later, was this Type 50S. Based on the Type 50 road car, it was one of three team cars prepared for the 1931 24 Hours race. This particular chassis competed in the legendary endurance race three more times, coming very close to winning in 1935. The featured example is the only survivor out of the three.
Our favorite Bugatti of the weekend was the Type 59 Sports Roadster piloted up the hill by Classic & Sports Car's Mick Walsh. Originally built as a Grand Prix car, it scored its biggest successes as a sports racer. After its long racing career, Type 59 was sold to King Leopold of Belgium. Since then it has been owned by true enthusiasts, who have carefully preserved the machine's highly original condition.
In the Sunday Times Supercar Run the very shiny Veyron Pur Sang was hard to miss. Combining a finish of bare aluminum and carbon fiber, it is one of the most extreme special editions of the Veyron supercar.

Ahead of the launch at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show, Ferrari have today revealed the first images and detailed information of the 458 Italia; the much anticipated replacement of the current F430 range. As the name suggests, it is powered by a 4.5 liter V8 engine, which is a development of the engine first used in the California introduced last year. It distinguishes itself from the earlier mid-mounted V8s in that it has direct injection. The increase in displacement has boosted the output to a staggering 570 bhp, which is a little more than the comparable Gallardo. All that power is transferred to the rear wheels through a dual-clutch seven-speed gearbox. Needless to say the car comes complete with all sorts of trickery to control the traction.
Of at least equal importance to the technical details is the exterior styling. House-designer Pininfarina is responsible for the 458 Italia's very striking lines. Although there is still a similarity with the earlier models, the styling is quite unique and may not be to everyone's liking. The nose sports long headlights with incorporated vents and the rear-end has three F40-like exhaust pipes. The greenhouse is relatively large courtesy of very low doors. From the side the Italia is reminiscent of the Enzo.
Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher has contributed his wealth of experience and knowledge to improve the machine's handling. The engineers have also spent much time making the 458 more environmentally friendly than its predecessors. They achieved this in part by keeping the weight down to 1360 kg, which is 90 kg less than the outgoing F430. The new Ferrari can accelerate from 0 - 100 km/h in under 3.5 seconds and does not stop until it reaches 325 km/h.

At the eve of this weekend's Spa 24 Hours, Lamborghini tuner Reiter revealed the new Murci�lago LP670 R-SV GT1 racer. It is built for the upcoming GT1 World Championship where it will face the Nissan GT-R and Matech-Ford GT1, which both have already been raced. Ferrari have also expressed their intention to build a version of the F430 for the 2010 World Championship.
As the name suggests, the new Reiter-Lamborghini racing car is based on the most extreme version of the Murci�lago; the LP670-4 SV. Reiter have stripped the car of its four-wheel drive system and have further lightened it. All of the 2010 cars will be subject to equalization tests ahead of the season, so it is impossible to provide performance figures for the car just yet.
A week earlier, Reiter also revealed a new GT3 Lamborghini based on the latest Gallardo. This Gallardo LP560 GT3 will replace the highly successful first generation Gallardo GT3 car of which no fewer than 49 were built between 2006 and 2008. It uses the 5.2 litre version of the V10 engine and sports an aero-package that is 8% more efficient. A revised version of the gearbox has seen the gearshift times drop by a full 50%. The first deliveries of the GT3 cars are expected later this season.
In March of this year, Reiter launched the first of their three new 2009/2010 Lamborghini based racing cars. This was the Gallardo LP560 GT2. Like the new GT3 car, the GT2 competitor has the Gallardo LP560-4 as a basis. Even though it was first seen out in track back in March, the GT2 car has only been raced once. Fortunately we were on hand to capture it, resulting in this 12-shot gallery.
Over the weekend we have moved the website to a more powerful server; a remarkably painless operation. If you nevertheless are encountering any problems, please let us know in this dedicated forum thread.

In 1934 a new era in Grand Prix racing started with the arrival of the 'Silver Arrows.' Constructed with the financial help from the German government, the new Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union machines combined very powerful engines with revolutionary chassis. Unlike their contemporaries the German machines had fully independent suspension.
The most successful of the 1934 cars was the Mercedes-Benz W25. It featured a supercharged straight eight engine that originally produced just over 314 bhp, which was gradually increased to 453 bhp as the engine grew in size. After a difficult start, drivers like Luigi Fagioli and Rudolf Caracciola dominated Grand Prix racing during the 1935 season. The W25 was also set to be the reason for the cars being called 'Silver Arrows' or 'Silber Pfeile' but the truth is a little different. All this can be found in our detailed article that is illustrated with pictures of one of the first W25s built. It was driven up the hill at Goodwood by Jenson Button and Jochen Mass. The featured example was the first 'Silver Arrow' to win a race in 1934.
Where the Mercedes-Benz was still fairly conventional, Auto Union broke new grounds with their Type A. Designed by Dr Ferdinand Porsche, it sported a supercharged V16 engined that was mounted behind the driver. The typical Porsche swing-axles gave it very tricky handling but history would eventually prove Auto Union right. In 6-litre Type C specification, the mid-engined Auto Union was virtually unbeatable in 1936. Unfortunately only very few Auto Unions have survived and none of the original Type As remain. British experts Crosthwaite and Gardiner have come to our rescue in recent years by constructing several absolutely correct 'resurrections' using the original drawings provided by Audi. That made it possible for us to shoot an Auto Union Type A at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Originally founded in 1952 by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, the National Motor Museum is one of the finest automotive museums. The father of Lord Montagu was one of the automotive pioneers and the museum originally was a tribute to him. Today the collection spawns well over a century of motoring and covers diverse themes like horseless carriages, Land Speed record breakers and cars used in James Bond movies. Among the numerous highlights are the second oldest Bugatti in the world, the most original Lotus 49 and Donald Campbell's 403 mph Bluebird. There are also temporary displays; at the time of our visit custom cars were featured and currently the popular BBC television show Top Gear takes center stage. The museum is just a part of the fabulous Beaulieu estate located in the New Forest in the South of England. Visitors can also take a tour of the gardens and even the Palace House where Lord Montagu still resides.
We visited the museum some time ago and have compiled our impressions in a concise report and a 80-shot gallery.
When we visited the National Motor Museum one of the star cars was missing. Fortunately we ran into this BRM V16 a few days later at the Goodwood Revival Meeting. Built for the first Formula 1 season, the V16 engined single seater had the hopes of the British nation pinned on it. At that time it had been nearly 30 years since a British car had won a Grand Prix, so the spectators were understandably disappointed when the car failed to rival the Italians and French. The BRM was notoriously unreliable but it did provide us with an unmistakable and very loud soundtrack. The roar of the V16 can literally be heard from miles away. The car owned by the National Motor Museum and featured in our article is the first one built.

This weekend Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado will once again host the legendary 'Race to the Clouds.' In the mid-1980s Audi dominated the annual the hill climb with various incarnations of their revolutionary Quattro rally car. The 1986 and 1987 editions were won by this specially prepared Sport Quattro S1 skillfully piloted by Bobby Unser and Walter R�hrl. The 'Pikes Peak Special' reportedly produced in excess of 1000 bhp, which was quite a bit more than the official figure of 600 bhp claimed by Audi. The car was a development of the Sport Quattro S1 constructed for the 1985 World Rally Championship. Although the bewinged monster managed to win only one major rally, it has gone into history as the most powerful rally car ever built. With its short wheelbase and very long overhangs, it also ranks among the ugliest rally cars. Both the Pikes Peak Sport Quattro S1 and the 'regular' Sport Quattro S1 are pictured in action at the 2009 Goodwood Festival of Speed where Audi's 100th anniversary was celebrated.
Audi's own birthday present is the A5 Sportback. Compared to the angular beasts of the 1980s, the current range are absolute beauties. The new Sportback combines the much acclaimed lines of the A5 Coupe with the practicality of a four-door saloon and a hatchback. A varied range of engines is available, including various tarmac shredding diesels. The top of the line is the 3.2 direct injected petrol engine that produces 265 bhp. The Sportback will revealed to the public at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

Enthusiasts will tell you that any classic Bugatti is special but some of them are even more special than others. One of these is this Type 57 C Coupe, which was built by the factory workers as a surprise gift for none other than Ettore Bugatti himself. They used a standard chassis with a supercharged engine but clothed it in a spectacular 'profil�' style body penned by Jean Bugatti. Amazingly the very elegant design was only used for this one car and as such is absolutely unique. After the car was presented to 'Le Patron', it remained at the factory and received various upgrades over time. Long after Ettore's death, the unique Type 57 C finally left Molsheim and has since been owned by great custodians. They have beautifully preserved the car and it remains highly original today. Next month, at Gooding & Company's annual Pebble Beach auction, you will have to opportunity to acquire this one-off Bugatti Type 57 C Coupe.
The massive Mercedes-Benz S-Class may not be the obvious machine to receive an environmental certificate but in S 400 Hybrid specification, it has. In addition to using a more efficient hybrid drivetrain, the new hybrid S-Class is also partly constructed from recycled materials.
Fresh from winning Le Mans, Peugeot have announced that the very sporty RCZ will enter production early next year. Although detailed pictures have not been released, it does appear to be very similar to the RC Z Concept launched two years ago. For further details we will have to wait until the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
While we were admiring the spectacular exhaust notes of the Zonda R at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Pagani took the wraps off the Cinque Roadster. This is yet another limited edition version of the Zonda. Hopefully the next announcement from the Italian supercar manufacturer will concern the Zonda's much anticipated replacement.

Purely designed as a road car, the legendary McLaren F1 did remarkably well on the racing track. With hardly any performance enhancing modifications, the F1 took an outright victory in 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. In the following seasons, it faced ever stronger competition from cars that were conceived as racing cars from the ground up. To catch up, the original McLaren F1 GTR was completely revised for the 1997 season. Known as the F1 GTR Longtail, it featured a longer wheelbase, modified engine and a completely different body kit. Run by BMW Motorsport, the 1997 McLaren took four outright victories in the FIA GT Championship. At Le Mans the cars finished first and second in class and second and third outright behind a Porsche/TWR prototype racer. At the recent Modena Trackdays we got a closer look of one of the BMW Motorsport team cars. It is now owned by a German collector and historic racer. At the N�rburgring, he completed many laps in his beautiful F1 GTR Longtail.
Also present at the Modena Trackdays and owned by the same collector was this McLaren MP4/1B. As the name suggests, it was a development of the revolutionary MP4/1 introduced halfway through the 1981 season. Designed by John Barnard, it was the first ever carbon fiber Formula 1 car. Shortly after its debut, it scored McLaren's first victory since 1977. The renewed success was made possible by Ron Dennis, who had taken over at the ailing British team at the end of the 1980 season. In MP4/1B guise, it was even more successful with Niki Lauda and John Watson winning two races each. Watson and McLaren finished second in their respected championships. The car was eventually developed into the all-conquering, Porsche engined MP4/2. The featured MP4/1B was one of the cars used by Niki Lauda in 1982 and has been meticulously restored to its original configuration.

American talk show host and car collector Jay Leno unveiled the brand new Jaguar XJ last night during a ceremony at the Saatchi Gallery in London. For over four decades Jaguar's flagship model has seen a gradual evolution; the current generation still shares many styling cues with the original launched back in 1968. Lead designer Ian Callum wiped all that heritage off the table and started with a clean sheet. The 2010 XJ does resemble its smaller siblings but there are no hints of previous models. The most striking feature of the new XJ is an integrated panoramic glass roof. The rear legroom has also been improved and the boot has room to place two suitcases side by side. What has remained is the all-aluminum and relatively light chassis that is constructed from around 50% recycled material. Other traditional Jaguar values like quality and luxury have of course also been retained.
Customers of the range-topping 'Jag' have a choice of various diesel and petrol engines. The most potent diesel model is powered by a twin-turbo V6, which produces a staggering 600 Nm of torque. The aluminum AJ V8 engine is available with direct injection in naturally aspirated and supercharged form. In its most powerful guise that 5-litre unit is good for a very impressive 510 bhp. That's enough power to accelerate the big cat from 0-60 mph in well under five seconds. All engines are mated to a ZF 6-speed automatic gearbox.
The first deliveries are scheduled for the the first quarter of 2010. It will be very interesting to see if the usually very conservative Jaguar customers will appreciate the revolutionary styling. The 2010 Jaguar is certainly a stylistic and technical 'tour de force.'

For automotive enthusiasts there was only one place to go this weekend; the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Held for the 17th time, the petrol-soaked garden party always attracts some of the most evocative racing cars and their original drivers. This year the main theme was 'True Grit - Epic Feats of Endurance,' which coincided nicely with the various celebrations. One the absolute highlights was the 40th anniversary of the Porsche 917, celebrated by a collection of a dozen examples that represented most variants and included the unique road car, the 1971 Le Mans winner and the 1000+ bhp 917/30. Another eye-catcher was the 75th anniversary of the German 'Silver Arrows' that brought out many of the rare surviving machines. Other spectacular machines out on the 1.5 mile hill were the 1974 Indy 500 winning McLaren M16C, the unique W12 engined Life 190, all of Audi's recent Le Mans racers and Jesse James' Trophy Truck. The fight for the fastest time was extremely close with just 2-tenths separating the two top runners.
In addition to showcasing classic road and racing cars, the Festival of Speed also brings out many brand new supercars and concepts. This time we were treated to the likes of the Pagani Zonda R, Porsche Panamera and Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss. Further events included the Bonhams auction, the Cartier 'Style et Luxe' concours d'elegance and spectacular air shows by the Red Arrows and the new Eurofighter.
Our reporters were at Goodwood throughout the unique Festival of Speed capturing all the action. Their efforts have resulted in a comprehensive report, illustrated by an exclusive 280-shot gallery. In the coming weeks you can expect detailed features of many of the fabulous machines that were at Goodwood over the weekend.

This past Monday and Tuesday the N�rburgring Grand Prix track hosted the biennial Modena Trackdays. Organized by German Ferrari dealer and F1 Clienti agent Modena Motorsport, it traditionally attracts some very interesting road and racing cars, not necessarily sporting the 'Prancing Horse' badge. This year was no exception as a host of Formula 1 cars, sports racers and historic and modern road cars were found on the German circuit. Among the many highlights were a Ferrari 312 T4, two McLaren F1 GTRs and the Ferrari 250 GT 'Breadvan.' Possibly the most surprising entrant was the only surviving Mercedes-Benz CLR that is best known for its three flights at the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans.
We spent two days in the hot and humid German Eifel mountains, which has resulted in a short report and a 120-shot gallery packed with all the highlights.
In addition to the report, we have also taken a closer look at one of the best cars on track; a Sauber Mercedes C11. The chassis present at the Modena Trackdays is the only one in private hands and has just benefited from a full restoration. In our updated article it is joined by a sister car that is still owned by Mercedes-Benz, which is pictured at the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed. In this weekend's Festival of Speed the privately owned machine will feature prominently, so you have another chance to see the rare beast in action.
Completely unrelated but nevertheless very exciting is the latest addition to the Sportec line-up. Dubbed the SPR1 T80, it sports a highly modified version of Porsche's twin-turbo flat six, which produces a staggering 858 bhp. It will debut at the Salon Prive event later this month.