Amidst the, literally, thousands of cars on display during last week's Techno Classica in Essen several cars stood out. Among them was the original Bugatti EB 16/4 Veyron Concept, which was launched in this guise at the 2000 Paris Motor Show. This was the very same show car previously used for the EB 18/3 Veyron Concept shown a year earlier in Tokyo but with an eighteen-cylinder engine. At the time of the sixteen-cylinder Veyron launch, the plan was that production would commence within two years and that the car would be available in naturally aspirated and quad-turbo form. Although these plans did change over the following years, the Veyron did live up to the original promise of becoming the fastest production road car in the world. At the Techno Classica, Bugatti lined up the original Veyron Concept alongside two production cars to reveal the many detail changes made before it was ready to hit the streets.
Altogether more difficult to spot in the vast Messe Essen was this diminutive Bizzarrini GT Europa 1900. Tipping the scales at under 700 kg, boasting a near perfect weight balance and handling, and sporting a beautiful scaled down 5300 GT body, the pocket-size Bizzarrini had all the right ingredients to be a great success. Sadly, Giotto Bizzarrini was a man of many skills but he lacked the business acumen to allow the GT Europa to live up to the huge expectations. In the end, only a dozen were built and at least another five were later constructed from spares. In reference to its Opel GT derived powerplant, Road & Track later remarked that the Bizzarrini GT Europa 1900 was everything the Opel GT should have been.

Yesterday, the doors of the Messe Essen exhibition centre opened for the 26th annual Techno Classica. The largest classic car show in the world this year features no fewer than 1,250 exhibitors, including 27 major manufacturers. Among the themes this year are 120 years of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, 100 years of Maserati and 95 years of Zagato. Particularly the Mercedes-Benz display was very impressive as it featured no fewer than 36 racing cars from the company's very rich past and present. Our photographers spent the entire 'Happy View Day' to explore the 20 halls and have captured all the highlights to create this concise report, illustrated by a colourful 220-shot gallery. As always, you can expect detailed articles on some of the most interesting cars that starred in Essen.
The international endurance racing teams have gathered at Paul Ricard for the official FIA WEC test or Prologue, which will be held tomorrow and Saturday. On the eve of the first day of testing, Toyota have finally launched the all-new TS040 Hybrid. The hugely sophisticated machine boasts a drivetrain that consists of a 3.7 litre naturally aspirated V8, assisted by two electric motors and is good for a whopping 1,000 hp at full pelt. This very potent power unit is installed in a chassis that is loosely based on the TS030 used during the previous seasons. Interestingly, the car revealed at Paul Ricard today and the one that stars in our 19-shot gallery both have very different nose configurations. Presumably these are high and low downforce solutions, which shows Toyota is very serious about winning both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the World Championship.

Nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen, today introduced the all-new Audi R18 e-tron quattro in its definitive livery by driving it through the town of Le Mans. The route chosen started at the Place des Jacobins where the scrutineering is traditionally held and finished at the Le Mans track as a tribute to the good old days when the cars where driven to and from town on public roads for scrutineering. Audi also released more mechanical details of the new Le Mans racer, which will be powered by an enlarged, four-litre V6 diesel engine mated to a hybrid system capable of storing up to 2 MJ. The F1-derived exhaust energy recovery system has been eliminated as it would add too much weight to the already heavy diesel drivetrain. The first public appearance of the 2014-spec R18 e-tron quattro will be at this weekend's official WEC test at Paul Ricard.
One of the all-new cars to join the Audi on track will be the Strakka-Dome S103 Nissan, which emerged from the Strakka Racing workshop for the first time yesterday. Following a brief and successful shakedown, the striking LMP2 car has been loaded on a truck and sent down to the South of France to commence testing in earnest.
A hugely successful sports racer from a different era is the Sauber Mercedes C9, which competed in the World Sportscar Championship between 1987 and 1989. Built by Sauber and raced with support from Mercedes-Benz, this remains as one of the most potent machines of the Group C era. In its final and most successful guise, it was powered by a twin-turbo V8 good for well over 700 bhp in race trim. Its best season was 1989, when the C9 dominated the World Championship and won Le Mans outright. We have expanded our article to include 69 images of different examples. We expect to see at least one of these again at this week's Techno Classica in Essen where over 20 Mercedes-Benz competition cars are expected to line-up. We will, of course, bring full coverage of this year's edition later in the week.

Bugattis efforts to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans were plagued by misfortune but particularly Jean Bugatti did not want to give up. To this end, three or four Type 57 G Tanks were built using production car underpinnings and a slippery aluminium body that earned the Bugatti its nickname. Considering Bugatti's luck at Le Mans, it was no surprise that the attempt to win in 1936 was thwarted by strikes, which caused the race to be cancelled altogether. The car did show its potential in the remainder of the year, winning several races outright and also setting numerous land speed records for naturally aspirated engines. The curse was finally broken in 1937 when this Type 57 G Tank won the race outright. A supercharged example won Le Mans again two years later but the success came at a price as just a few weeks later Jean Bugatti would fatally crash the 1939 Le Mans winner while readying it for its next outing. It is understood that the featured Type 57 G is the only survivor of its type.
Often described by Ettore Bugatti as big, heavy trucks, Bentleys scored even more success at Le Mans, taking five wins between 1924 and 1930. The first one was scored 90 years ago with this mildly modified 3 Litre Vanden Plas Tourer. It is today owned by the Le Mans museum and we captured the Le Mans winner during a rare outing at Retromobile earlier this year.
Over the last few weeks and months, we have completely revised the way the images are stored with the cars, which allows us to expand the galleries much more easily. Today we have done that with the Ferrari 275 GTB/C of which we found some great material while browsing through our Tour Auto archive. Three chassis have been added and the gallery has been expanded to 100 shots. We will also be following the Tour Auto from start to finish again this year, so you can expect a full set of scenic shots from this year's event shortly after it has finished on April 12th.

Halfway through the 1953 season, Ferrari announced the latest evolution of the long-block sports cars, intended specifically for privateer racers. Known as the 375 MM, a vast majority were clothed by Pinin Farina either as a Spyder or the fixed head Berlinetta. Ferrari offered two versions of the Lampredi V12 with a slightly different bore/stroke ratio to best suit the use of the car. In Spyder form, the 375 MM was also briefly raced by the works team, with a win in the 1954 Buenos Aires 1000 km in the hands of Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli as the best result. Over the years we have seen quite a few of these mighty machines and have now expanded our 375 MM Pinin Farina Spyder article to include seven different examples, illustrated by a 77-shot gallery. A rarer sight is the 375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta of which three different chassis are now featured.
A week before the production of the Camaro Z/28 will start, Callaway have released the first details of the upcoming SC652 version. This features a supercharged version of the 427 V8, good for 652 bhp. Only ten examples will be built this year.
This week, we have also added two of the earliest Brabhams; the BT2 Ford and BT6 Ford. These straightforward single seaters competed in the final two seasons of Formula Junior and in 1963 were second only to the Type 27 Lotus, which boasted a much more sophisticated monocoque chassis.

Porsche have today released the most potent evolution of the mid-engined Cayman and Boxster yet. Compared to the S versions of the cars, the new GTS has an additional 15 hp, lifting the power to 340 hp and 330 hp respectively. Both the Cayman GTS and the Boxster GTS are available with a seven-speed, dual clutch automatic or a conventional six-speed gearbox. The purists need to take note that the former will provide quicker acceleration figures. The two GTS models are available for order with immediate effect and should arrive in showrooms within the next two months.
Courtesy of a 576 bhp V8 engine, the much larger Mercedes-Benz S 63 AMG announced today, will beat the aforementioned Porsches, at least in a straight line. It should also be considerably faster than the CL 63 AMG it replaces as it is 40 bhp more powerful and 63 kg lighter. The tarmac shredding S 63 AMG Coupe is set to make its world debut at next month's New York Auto Show.

To start off the week well, we have today highlighted three very interesting Alfa Romeos. The earliest is this 1900C SS Boano Coupe, which was shown at the 1955 Turin Motor Show. This one-off shared its overall design with the slightly larger 6C 3000 Coupe built for Argentinean president Juan Peron. With the exception of a respray to red from its original yellow with a black roof, the Alfa Romeo 1900C SS Boano Coupe has survived in remarkably original condition. Having been hidden away for many years, it has only recently resurfaced.
With the legendary Alfetta, Alfa Romeo dominated the first two seasons of Formula 1 before temporarily ceasing their motor sports activities. By the late 1970s, the Italian manufacturer returned to the pinnacle of single seater racing and for the 1983 season the 183T was readied. It was powered by the newly developed twin-turbo V8, which proved hopelessly unreliable in the opening rounds. By the second half of the season, the team's fortunes turned and driver Mauro Baldi managed to finish runner up twice. We have captured the second Alfa Romeo 183T in full detail at the most recent editions of the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Reliving a great period in Alfa Romeo's and Touring's histories, the latter has created a modern interpretation of the Disco Volante. The striking machine is inspired by the original C52 Disco Volante Coupe and is based on 8C Competizione underpinnings. Our 33-shot gallery features two of the three cars that have currently been produced by Touring.

Following Alpine last year, another great French name will return to Le Mans this year; Ligier. The car that will carry the Ligier name at Le Mans will be this JS P2, developed and constructed by Onroak Automotive. This French outfit was built on the ashes of Pescarolo Sport and previously also constructed the Morgan LMP2 car. The Ligier Coupe is the company's first all-new LMP design and was designed by the team lead by Nicolas Clemencon. Powered by a Nissan V8 engine, the Ligier JS P2 hit the track for the first time this week. The new LMP2 car can also be equipped with the Judd or HPD engines.
The last time Ligier raced at Le Mans was in 1975 when the JS2 Cosworth finished second overall. It was the culmination of four seasons of racing with the JS2, which was powered by a Maserati V6 engine. In this guise, it also won the Le Mans 4 Hours and the Tour de France in 1974. All this was accomplished by just three cars. Both surviving examples of this spectacular machine are pictured in our 38-shot gallery.
Another car that competed successfully at Le Mans that year was this Moynet LM 75. It was the brainchild of Andre Moynet, who was a WW II fighter ace and a racing driver in his own right. The purpose built machine was entered with an all-female line-up and finished 21st overall and first in class. Despite the success, this was to be the Moynet's only outing. After many years in hiding it recently resurfaced and was readied for racing once more. We captured the Moynet LM 75 at the 2012 Le Mans Classic.

Over the weekend both RM Auctions and Gooding & Co. hosted very successful sales at Amelia Island. One of the big surprises at RM Auctions was this lovely Aston Martin 15/98 Abbey Sports 2/4 Seater, which sold for $616,000; 50% over its top estimate. Beautifully restored, this was one of the very last Aston Martins built before the War and it was shown at last year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance where Aston Martin was one of the featured marques. Grabbing most headlines though was the Delahaye 135 Competition Court Figoni & Falaschi Torpedo Cabriolet from the estate of Malcolm Pray. He saw the car for the first time in 1939 and eventually managed to buy the striking machine in 1964. In his ownership, it was shown at all the major events with great success. It has now found a new owner for $6.6 million, which was a world record for a Delahaye sold at auction.
Topping the Gooding sale at $3.6 million was the lovely Porsche 907L we featured last week. Since then Mr 907, Vic Elford has helped us correct some errors in the article and also explained why five different drivers piloted the car to victory in the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours. Another rare Porsche that crossed the block this weekend was a Porsche 959 Vorserie. One of just 21 built before production commenced earnest, this example served as a Porsche demonstrator until 1989. It was only recently exported to the United States and changed hands for close to $690,000.

Rounding off our coverage of this year's Geneva Motor Show, we have today updated and expanded the articles of the cars we already previewed or featured.
Among them is the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge, of which more technical details were revealed, including the 560 hp V6 drivetrain borrowed from the GT-R. Another high performance model from Japan shown in concept form was the Honda Civic Type R. The production version, powered by a 280 hp engine, will be available from 2015.
One of the most highly anticipated cars launched in Geneva was the all-new Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4. We have expanded the article with additional images and detailed specification.
We have also added numerous images to the galleries of the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N430, BMW M4 Coupe, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ferrari California T, Hyundai PassoCorto Concept and Nissan GT-R Nismo.

Following our detailed report on the show itself, it is now time to look at some of the very best cars unveiled in Geneva this week. Certainly the most powerful is the Koenigsegg One:1, which will be built in limited numbers to mark the company's 20th anniversary. The power output of the bespoke twin-turbo V8 is cheekily listed by Koenigsegg as 1MW or 1,340 bhp. The One:1 name is a reference to the 1 bhp / 1 kg power to weight ratio.
The latest classic name revived is Ermini, who showed the fabulous Seiottosei sports car in Geneva. Tipping the scales at just 686 kg (hence the name), the minimalistic roadster is powered by a 320 bhp Renault engine. Other Italian machinery that starred at the Swiss show were the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, which is due to enter production in 2015, the Italdesign Clipper design study and the very quick Fiat Abarth 695 biposto.
McLaren meanwhile revealed the 650S Spider, which joins the 650S Coupe announced a few weeks earlier. With 641 bhp on tap, it is the most powerful production McLaren currently available.
One of our favourite show cars in Geneva was the Quant e-Sportlimousine, which was built to showcase the novel nanoflowcell energy storage system.
Although not on display, Jaguar did release the first details of the upcoming XE, which will be the company's new compact model.
The single most highly anticipated sponsorship announcement this year was the much speculated return of Martini to Formula 1. This finally happened when the strikingly Martini liveried Williams FW36 Mercedes broke cover yesterday.

The Palexpo exhibition centre in Geneva has opened its doors for the 84th annual International Motor Show this week. One of the most highly regarded of all motor shows, Geneva is traditionally attended by all the major manufacturers but also by most of the specialist firms, which greatly contributes to its appeal. This year was certainly no exception as companies like Toyota and Renault shared space on the show floor with less mainstream names the likes of Ermini, Zenvo and Quant. Among the highlights this year was the launch of the new Lamborghini Huracan and the striking Maserati Alfieri we already featured earlier this week but also the all-new rear-engined Renault Twingo. Providing a walk through endurance racing history was a spectacular display of cars that placed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including many winners, ranging from the early 1920s straight through to the battered Audi that won in 2013.
As always, our photographers roamed the various halls in the Palexpo to capture all the highlights. The result is a comprehensive 260-shot gallery, which serves to illustrate a concise report.

Amidst the dozens of new cars announced today at the Geneva Internatinoal Motor Show, one in particular stood out: the Maserati Alfieri. Named after the most prominent of the company's founding brothers, it was built to celebrate Maserati's 100th anniversary. Providing the inspiration for the striking 2+2 Coupe was the A6GCS/53 Pinin Farina Coupe we already highlighted earlier this year. In addition to the styling similarities, the A in A6GCS is also short for Alfieri. Working under Lorenzo Ramciotti, the car was styled by Maserati Centro Stile and combines thoroughly modern lines with retro details like the faux wire wheels. The underpinnings for the car are based on the GranTurismo MC Stradale but using a shorter wheelbase chassis. This means the compact machine boasts a 460 hp version of the familiar V8 engine, which created quite a roar at the launch this morning. Maserati is currently assessing wether the Alfieri should enter production, which we certainly hope it will. Wrestling through a sea of photographers, we have managed to capture every angle of the Alfieri as can be seen in our 16-shot gallery.
Keep an eye on this space as a complete report with a comprehensive gallery from the 2014 Geneva International Motor Show will be published within a day, followed by more detailed features of the cars launched here.

On the eve of the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Volkswagen Group held their traditional preview show. Among the models announced were the all-new TT range, headlined by the TTS Coupe. Around 100 kg lighter than its predecessor, the TTS features a 306 bhp, 2-litre TFSI engine, which drives all four wheels through Audi's familiar quattro system. In Geneva, the TTS will be shown in Coupe form but a Roadster will also follow.
Another car previewed tonight was the Volkswagen T-Roc Concept, which offers a first glimpse of future Volkswagen SUVs. In concept form, the T-Roc boasts a 181 bhp diesel engine.
An altogether more potent SUV is the Range Rover Evoque Autobiography Dynamic, which features a two-litre turbocharged petrol engine wound up to produce a startling 281 bhp.
Over at Alfa Romeo, the news for Geneva is limited to two high performance versions of existing models; the 237 bhp Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde and the 170 bhp MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde.
Over the weekend, BMW revealed the new-for-2014 M4 DTM, which will take over from the two-time championship winning M3 DTM. Like its rivals the very aggressive looking M4 DTM features a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and a naturally aspirated V8 engine.