Ever since Toyota's withdrawal from Formula 1, the manufacturer's Germany based motorsports department TMG (Toyota Motorsports GmbH) have been busy with a variety of projects ranging from the supply of sports car engines to F1 testing duties with Pirelli. Their latest endeavour was smashing the lap record for electric cars around the legendary Nurburgring Nordschleiffe. Until Monday that stood at 9:01 minutes but using the Radical based TMG EV P001, Jochen Krumbach lowered that dramatically to 7:48 minutes. Equipped with road legal tyres, the small two-seater featured a powertrain developed in conjunction with German experts e-Wolf with a maximum output of 375 bhp and 800 Nm. For TMG the record run also served to further showcase their technology and they hope to market the highly potent drivetrain.
In a fortnight Audi will launch a whole range of S models, equipped with a brand new V8 engine. The four-litre unit is equipped with twin turbos and direct injection, and is capable of producing up to 520 hp. In that tune, it will be available in the S8, replacing the V10 engine previously used. For the S6, S6 Avant and the S7 Sportback, the TFSI V8 has been detuned to produce 420 hp. Although the two variants of the V8 match the outgoing engines for power, Audi claims consumption has been reduced by as much as 25 %.
Both Ford and Peugeot will use the biennial Frankfurt show to provide a peek at the company's future range-topping models. The star on the 'Blue Oval' display will be the Evos Concept. The show car's most striking features are clearly the four 'gullwing' doors. It would not surprise us if many of the Evos' cues will find their way on the next generation Mondeo. Peugeot's HX1 Concept, however, signals the addition of a brand new model to the company's line-up. It is powered by a diesel hybrid powertrain that produces just under 300 bhp.
In 2015, Land Rover plans to replace the iconic Defender model. A first sign of things to come is this DC100 Concept also set to be unveiled in Frankfurt. It is clearly a big break with tradition and it remains to be seen if it can appeal to the purist fans of the original Defender.

The Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was once again the racing hub of the annual Monterey Classic Car Week with around 550 historic racing cars, spread over 17 classes, taking to the undulating track during the four-day Rolex Monterey Monterey Motorsports Reunion. As has become a popular tradition, the action actually kicked off a weekend earlier with the 'Pre-Reunion', which already saw a considerable number of the Reunion's cars competing. This year's featured marque was Jaguar with a special focus on the E-Type, which was introduced 50 years ago. As part of these celebrations, the legendary American Jaguar privateer Bob Tullius was also honoured. In conjunction with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the Motorsports Reunion also marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the development of the Ferrari 250 GTO.
Among the 17 classes were all the crowd favourites, like 1970s Formula 1, Can-Am, IMSA GTP / Group C and Trans-Am. They were spread in two groups, with nine racing on Saturday and eight on Sunday. Fortunately the Sunday groups had practice on both Thursday and Friday, so our photographers had plenty of time to capture all groups in detail. The result is a concise report and an action packed 210-shot gallery.

With the IAA in Frankfurt less than three weeks away, the manufacturers have gradually begun to release the first details of the cars scheduled to debut in the German city. Today we take a closer look at three of these as well as a new Aston Martin racer.
A year after revealing the Coupe in Paris, Bentley will launch the Contintal GTC drop-head. Not surprisingly, it shares all of its underpinnings with the 'GT', including the 567 bhp W12 engine. This represents a 15 bhp increase over the outgoing model. The British manufacturer has once again opted to use a traditional fabric roof for the GTC instead of the retractable hard-tops fitted to many of the latest drop-heads.
One of the first cars to use these foldable steel roofs was the Mercedes-Benz SLK. A third generation version has recently been announced and at the IAA, Mercedes-Benz will reveal the top-of-the-range SLK 55 AMG model. It is powered by a new 5.5 litre V8 engine that produces just over 420 bhp. Equipped with all the latest technologies, the 'M152' is considerably more efficient and cleaner than the original 5.5 litre AMG V8.
Audi will expand the A8 line-up with the type's first ever Hybrid model. The A8 Hybrid combines a 2 litre turbo engine with an electric motor, which can be used on its own or to support the internal combustion engine. Also greatly contributing to the car's efficiency is the lightweight aluminium construction that sets the A8 apart from the rest of the Audi range.
In 2012, Aston Martin Racing will replace the long serving DBRS9 with a GT3 variant of the V12 Vantage. The British company's latest racer uses a 600 bhp version of the familiar V12 engine, which has been carefully repositioned in the aluminium chassis to optimise the weight balance. The first deliveries of the 298,000 Pound V12 Vantage GT3 are expected early in the year.

On Sunday the Monterey Classic Car Week had a spectacular finale at the 18th fairway of the Pebble Beach Golf Link with the annual Concours d'Elegance. This year marked the 61st edition of the prestigious event. Among the featured themes were the centenary of Stutz, 125 years of the automobile and the 50th anniversary of the Ferrari 250 GTO. The latter resulted in a magnificent display of 21 examples of one of the world's most valuable cars. The special classes were complemented by the familiar classes and the total entry consisted of 227 cars and motorcycles. In addition to the classic machines, there was a display of the latest concept and production cars. As always the activities were kicked off by the Tour d'Elegance in which a considerable number of entrants participated. The tour followed the familiar route along 17 Mile Drive, through the Tehema Estate and down Highway 1 to Big Sur. The event concluded with the announcement of the 'Best of Show' late on Sunday afternoon.
For the eighth year running our photographers were at Pebble Beach to capture the event in its entirety. The fruit of our labour is a concise report, illustrated by a 310 shot gallery from the Concours d'Elegance and a 100 shot gallery of the Tour d'Elegance.
In the following days and weeks you can expect many more features from the other events and auctions as well as detailed articles on the cars that starred during the 2011 Monterey Classic Car Week.

Today arch-rivals Ferrari and Porsche have revealed two of the industry's worst kept secrets; the 458 Spider and the '991' generation of the 911 Carrera respectively.
The 458 Spider joins the 458 Italia in the Ferrari's mid-engined line-up. It shares the same 4.5 litre, 570 bhp V8 engine with the fixed-head model that was introduced two years earlier. All new is a Ferrari patented roof system that consists of a fully retractable hard-top. According to the Italian manufacturer, this configuration is 25 kg (55 lbs) lighter than a fabric alternative and it can be opened in just 14 seconds. Another benefit is some additional luggage space created behind the seats. Much effort has gone into sound proofing and a normal conversation should be possible at speeds of up to 200 km/h (125 mph). The Ferrari 458 Spider should hit the showrooms soon after its public debut at the IAA next month.
Also making their world premier in Frankfurt are the all new 911 Carrera and 911 Carrera S. As with all previous generations of Porsche's iconic sports car, the new car is an evolution of the existing '997' model. The single biggest change is the 100 mm (3.9 inches) added to the car's wheelbase. At the same time the extensive use of aluminium in the chassis and body design have ensured that the latest 911 is 45 kg (99 lbs) lighter than its predecessor. Familiar engines will power the new machines; the Carrera S will feature a 400 hp flat six, while the entry-level 911 Carrera employs the same 350 bhp engine used by the outgoing Carrera. Both versions come with a seven-speed manual as standard with a PDK (double clutch) gearbox available as an option.

In the build-up to Sunday's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance both Cadillac and Lexus have both staged big reveals. GM's luxury brand used the exclusive Tehema Golf Course to take the wraps of the stylish Ciel Concept. With its four-door convertible configuration, the lavish Cadillac revives a classic tradition. The machine's styling is very much 21st century as is the sophisticated hybrid twin-turbo engine that produces a hefty 425 bhp. Whether a production version of the Ciel will follow is uncertain but its lines could inspire future Cadillac designs. Earlier this week Cadillac announced that the Converj Concept will hit production as the ELR. The 2+2 Coupe will be powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that uses electric motors and a petrol engine to generate additional energy when needed. The development program is still in its early stages, so now performance figures of the ELR have been released yet.
Lexus used the glamour of Pebble Beach to release the all-new GS 350. The mid-sized sedan signals a new styling direction for the Japanese luxury manufacturer. At the market launch the GS will be available with a 306 bhp V6, while other engine options, including a hybrid will follow later.
Audi meanwhile announced that the quirky Urban Concept will also be shown as a Spyder during the IAA in Frankfurt in a month's time. Like its fixed-head counterpart, the compact Urban Spyder employs an unusual 1+1 seating arrangement.

At this weekend's Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Jaguar is the featured marque with celebrations focusing on the 60th anniversary of the company's first Le Mans win and 50 years of the E-Type. One of the honoured guests for these festivities is Bob Tullius, whose Group 44 team raced Jaguars in the United States with great success for many years and brought the marque back to Le Mans in the mid-1980s. Fittingly, no fewer than three Group 44 Jaguars have been entered in the popular IMSA GTP class, including this XJR-7. Built late in 1985, it was an evolution of the hugely successful XJR-5 raced in the previous seasons. Although making extensive use of composite materials, it was destined to fight an uphill battle against the much better funded rivals. The XJR-7 that will race at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is the first one of five built and the last ever Group 44 car to compete in a race. It was also the last one to score a victory; the 1987 West Palm Beach 3 Hours in the hands of John Morton and Hurley Haywood. We already captured the car in action this weekend at the Pre-Reunion and at the 2009 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance where Group 44 was one of the celebrated themes. The result is this 18-shot gallery.
This week Jaguar also released the first sketch of the C-X16 due to be launched at Frankfurt in a month's time. This 'production concept' should provide a first look at Jaguar's future design themes.
An even more historically significant car that already competed at the Pre-Reunion and will be back out for the Motorsports Reunion the next few days is the McLaren M6A. Chassis M6A/1 was the first one built and scored two wins in the 1967 Can-Am Challenge Cup in the hands of Bruce McLaren. In the remaining races he had amassed enough points to be crowned champion at the end of the year ahead of team-mate Denny Hulme, who had scored another three victories in the 'papaya-orange' liveried machine. This was the start of McLaren's domination of the series, often referred to as the 'Bruce and Denny Show'. Also on hand will be chassis M6A/3, which served as a spare tub in 1967 and was to Roger Penske for Mark Donohue to race in 1968. He took one Can-Am victory and successfully defended his USRRC championship. Both cars are pictured in this detailed 24-shot gallery.

Tomorrow morning the 2011 edition of the annual Monterey Classic Car Week will kick off with the Concours on the Avenue in Carmel. It will be followed by a plethora of events and auctions that will keep us more than occupied for the full week. To give you an impression of what is in store for us and in the coming weeks for you, we have compiled a concise Preview of the week's most important events and auctions. As you have become used to over the last years, we will cover these in great detail and full reports will follow shortly after the weekend.
The focus of the events that are held on the Monterey Peninsula has not been just on classic cars for some years; in 2011 a variety of manufacturers will debut brand new models and show cars. Among them is Lotus, who will reveal the Evora GTE Road Car Concept at the McCall Motorworks Revival on Wednesday. The car is inspired by the Evora GTE that raced at Le Mans in June and features a 420 bhp version of its engine, mated to a sequential gearbox. If produced, the GTE Road Car will easily be the fastest machine in the British company's line-up.
Auctions are a key part of the week's events and this year the auctioneers have certainly gone all out to consign the most spectacular machinery. RM Auctions will offer a fantastic range of 500 K and 540 K Mercedes-Benz variants with this 540 K Spezial Roadster as the absolute highlight. Beautifully restored and boasting the most desirable specification, its hammer-price may very well break into the eight-figure territory. Another auction houses vying for big results is Gooding & Co., who will offer this Duesenberg 'Whittell' Coupe. Ordered new by Captain George Whittell Jr., it is exotic even by Duesenberg standards and cost a whopping $17,000 when new. Perhaps appealing more to the connoisseurs is this very rare Gobron-Brillie Skiff. A product of one of France's automotive pioneers, the lovely 1912 vintage machine features a very unusual opposing cylinder engine.

Each year the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance celebrates several marques and/or themes. In 2010, Pierce-Arrow was the featured marque and in addition, Alfa Romeo's centenary was celebrated. To warm you up even further for the upcoming Monterey Classic Car Week, today we highlight a machine from each of these great marques that starred at Pebble last year.
Unquestionably the most famous of all Pierce-Arrows is the Silver Arrow show car that was introduced in 1933. Its styling was well ahead of its time and the Pierce-Arrow marketing people justifiably claimed the Silver Arrow offered 1940 in 1933. The young designer Phil Wright was responsible for the aerodynamic lines. He had only joined a few months before the influential machine was launched. Ironically, Pierce-Arrow reached this artistic peak when the company was in dire straits. In the end only five Silver Arrows were built although the name was used for later, more conventional production models. The Silver Arrow that was displayed at Pebble is one of three or four that have survived.
The Alfa Romeo centenary was celebrated with a special class for 8C (eight cylinder) model. One of the rarest of these was the 8C 2900A, which was originally built for competition purposes only. After two seasons of racing with back-to-back Mille Miglia victories, the surviving examples were offered for sale. To make it more appealing, this 8C 2900A was re-bodied with a more luxurious 'Spider' body. Unusually, this was done in-house instead of by specialist companies like Touring or Pinin Farina. Today the unique 8C is owned by 8C expert Simon Moore. It was not only shown on the 18th fairway at Pebble but also driven during the Tour d'Elegance. Our 12-shot gallery shows the car at both occasions.

This morning Audi have released the first sketches of the innovative Urban Concept due to be revealed in the metal next month at the IAA in Frankfurt. As the name suggests, the very compact and light machine is aimed at the often congested urban areas. To keep the concept's dimensions to a minimum, the designers opted to go for a 1+1 seating arrangement with the seats staggered. Access to the passenger compartment is through the roof, which can slide back in its entirety. Weight was also a focus point for the Audi designers so lightweight materials have been used throughout from the switches to the major components. Drive comes from two electric motors, so the car runs emission free. Whether we will also see a production version of the Urban Concept remains to be seen but some elements may definitely be used on subsequent Audi road cars.
Last October, Ford of Australia's subsidiary FPV launched the new top of the range GT model. It was the first ever FPV model using a supercharged engine. This was a specifically developed variant of the latest Mustang GT V8. In its 'BOSS 355' specification, the 5 litre engine produces just under 450 bhp and 570 Nm of torque. FPV have now further expanded their range with the limited edition GT Black. Inspired by a concept car launched earlier this year, the 125 examples set to be produced are all finished in a stealthy black-on-black paint-scheme.

At all the events and auctions hosted on the Monterey Peninsula in August, Ferraris always feature strongly. This year promises to be no exception with the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and the Monterey Motorsports Reunion both running a 250 GTO class. At Pebble spectators will also be treated to the 158 F1 that was driven to the 1964 World Championship by John Surtees.
In 2009 Pebble Beach also hosted a unique Ferrari gathering when all four of the surviving 250 TR59s were brought together for the first since they formed Ferrari's works team during the 1959 season. This proved to be a difficult year for Ferrari as both the championship and the all-important Le Mans win went to rival Aston Martin. The TR59 did take a debut win at the Sebring 12 Hours in March. At the end of the season two examples were sold and continued to be raced by privateers for some time to come. The remaining three cars were updated to TR59/60 specification. They helped regain Ferrari's dominant position and the featured chassis 0774TR clinched the TR's second Le Mans win.
Both Gooding & Co. and RM Auctions will also offer some very impressive Ferraris. We already looked at the 250 TR Prototipo earlier but there are more gems available. Amazingly between them, the two auctioneers will offer two of the three 375 America Vignale Coupes constructed. Gooding's chassis 0337AL had been personally restored by the vendor before it became one of the stars of Pebble in 2009. Chassis 0327AL offered by RM was until recently part of the Fritz Kroymans collection and has benefitted from a recent respray to its original colours. Both Vignale Coupes are expected to fetch around $2 million US. For the second time this year, RM will also offer a 340 Mexico. In March the sister car went for nearly $4.3 million US, so this is definitely one to keep an eye out for.

On August 18th, Lexus will debut the all-new GS 350 as a warm-up to the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It will not just be the launch of a new model but of a new design philosophy that will be adopted by all other Lexus models in the coming years. The common element of the next generation will be the newly designed grille, which, following the latest design trends, is very deep. For now Lexus have just released the one teaser picture, which does give a clear impression of the new grille.
Cadillac will soon expand its range with the new ATS sedan. It will be the smallest Cadillac model available and will be pitched directly at the compact models launched by the other luxury manufacturers in recent years. The car sits on an all new RWD/AWD platform that has been specifically developed for Cadillac. As with the new Lexus, Cadillac have also only published a single teaser picture.
Well ahead of the 2012 season, Porsche have released the latest incarnation of the 997 GT3 Cup. The production based machine is obviously eligible for the national and international Porsche cups but will also be welcomed by a choice of multi-marque races and championships. The first customers will receive their new GT3 Cups in September. One of the most amazing bits of information in the press release is that Porsche have over the years sold over 2,200 Cup cars, which should make it the best selling racing car ever.

For the 1973 Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am), Porsche created one of the most ferocious racing cars ever constructed. Dubbed, the 917/30, it was powered by a 5.4 litre twelve cylinder engine that thanks to twin turbo-chargers produced as much as 1,200 bhp. This air-cooled flat 12 was strapped in a lightweight aluminium spaceframe chassis, which was clothed in a sophisticated high downforce body. The complete car weighed in at less than 850 kg (1875 lbs), giving the 917/30 a power to weight ratio never seen before and rarely seen since. Porsche 'Turbo Panzer' was supplied exclusively to Team Penske and its very brave and skilled driver Mark Donohue. Some teething problems dogged the campaign early on but once these were sorted the ultimate 917 swept all before. Two years later Donohue used a 917/50 to set a new average lap time record for a closed circuit at 356 km/h (221 mph) on the Talledega oval.
Over the last few years we have gathered enough material to completely overhaul our article on this ferocious beast, which is now illustrated by a 24-shot gallery featuring three different examples, full details of the engine mounted in the car and an 'exploded' view of an engine in the Porsche Museum.

For years now the various auctions have become an integral part of the annual classic car week that is about to be held in Monterey, California again. In the months building up to the sales, the auctioneers work hard to consign the best selection of lots. Today we take a look at three cars that will be offered by Gooding & Company, Bonhams & Butterfields and RM Auctions respectively.
One of the most historically important lots on offer in 2011 is certainly this Bentley 3 Litre Harrison Tourer. Bearing chassis number 3, it was the first Bentley ever sold to a customer and now is the oldest Bentley in existence. Having had a colourful history, this very interesting Bentley was restored to full running order in the 1990s. Despite its age only the front axle is not original but even this has been sourced from a slightly later 3 Litre Bentley. Since its restoration, the 3 Litre Tourer has been used extensively and is offered in full running order. Gooding & Company have not released an estimate but we expect the lovely Bentley to feature near the top of the week's results.
Whereas the Bentley represents one of the marque's first, the BRM P207 offered by Bonhams is actually the very last BRM to be entered in a Grand Prix. Built for the 1977 on a very tight string, the V12 engined machine struggled to keep up with the much better funded competition. This particular chassis was used with some success in the Aurora F1 championship before it lingered in non-running order for two decades. In recent years the P207 was completely restored and we saw it in action during the 2006 Monterey Historic Races.
Canadian auctioneer RM have consigned a very impressive collection of 1930s Mercedes-Benzes, all estimated to sell for between $3 - $6 million. Our eye was particularly caught by this 540 K Spezial Coupe, which is one of just a handful of 540 K chassis clothed with a fixed-head body. This was a product of the 'Sonderwagen' 'special cars' department of the in-house coach-builder Sindelfingen and was fittingly unveiled at the Motor Show in Paris where aerodynamic coupes were very much the fashion of the day. Always cherished by its owner and in remarkable original condition, the 540 K Spezial Coupe has a pre-sale estimate of $3.25 - $4.5 million.