This weekend will be the season finale of the Peter Auto series with the annual Dix Mille Tours at Le Castellet. It is a particularly popular event with drivers and the capacity entry lists show serve to underline this. We will be at the unique track in the south of France throughout the weekend and today we offer a first glimpse by highlighting two rare machines that are set to star at the upcoming Dix Mille Tours.
Right at home on the long straights will be this Porsche 917 K. It is the final example of the 25 built to meet the homologation requirements and it was initially raced by the Zitro Racing team and then by Emerson Fittipaldi's brother Wilson. Following lengthy spell in the collection of Miles Collier, it joined the stable of a Swiss Porsche enthusiast. He has raced the car at select events and we captured 917-025 at the most recent editions of the Le Mans Classic as well as at the Monza Historic last month.
While Ferrari 512 BB LMs are a regular sight at the Peter Auto events, this chassis is a rare sight. Originally owned and raced by Luigi Chinett's North American Racing Team (NART), it later competed in historic events by its Dutch owners. We had last seen the car during the late 1980s at Zandvoort until we spotted 26683 at the Le Mans Classic last year. It will be back in action this weekend in the hands of its current, French owner.

Exactly 50 years ago this month, March Engineering made their debut on the racing tracks with this rudimentary 693 Formula 3 car. Designed by Robin Herd, the one-off machine combined a angular steel tube-frame chassis with suspension components borrowed from contemporary Lotus and Brabham single seaters. It nevertheless impressed with a young Ronnie Peterson finishing an impressive third at the 693's September, 1969 debut. It was raced only twice more with Peterson and James Hunt doing the driving duties. Beautifully restored, the very first March was out in action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July as part of the March 50th anniversary celebrations.
Another unique March that took to the hill was this 84G Mazda. Sold new to Mazdaspeed, it was fitted with a twin-turbocharged rotary engine. Raced only once, it has survived in remarkably original condition. The final 84G built was brought all the way from New Zeeland by what is only its second private owner.
Another Kiwi-enthusiast taking part in the March celebrations demonstrate this CG891 Judd. Designed by Adrian Newey and fitted with a bespoke narrow angle V8 engine, it competed in the 1989 Formula 1 World Championship. Although the car looked good on paper, it ultimately proved a disappointment. The CG891 driven up the hill at Goodwood year was the fourth of five built, and it was given, at the end of the year, to a mechanic in lieu of unpaid wages.

To celebrate Zagato's 100th anniversary, Aston Martin and the Italian carrozzeria have collaborated to create the unique DBZ Centenary Collection. Priced at £6 million, it consists of a continuation DB4 GT Zagato and the an all-new DBS GT Zagato. Production is limited to just 19 examples as a reference to the number of the original DB4 GT Zagatos that were built in the early 1960s. This weekend, Aston Martin took the wraps off the DBS GT Zagato for the first time. As the name suggests, it is based on the highly acclaimed DBS but with a bespoke Zagato designed body. The latter features the trademark double bubble roof but also a massive, active front grille. The car also sports unit 18-carat gold badges. To further set the DBS GT Zagato apart from the 'regular' DBS is a slightly uprated version of the twin-turbo V12 that now produces 760 bhp.
Marking the launch new Zagato Aston Martin, we have also taken a closer look at one of the most famous examples of the original DB4 GT Zagato. Commonly referred to by its registration number '1VEV', the highlighted chassis was sold original to the Essex Racing Stable and raced during the 1961 and 1962 seasons. Among the highlights of the car's career was a third at the 1961 Tourist Trophy after it was driven to Goodwood on the road. Still shown and raced regularly, DB4GT/0182/R was seen most recently earlier this year at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance.

Last night, Chevrolet debuted the Convertible version of the all-new mid-engined Corvette Stingray. It will be the first time a Corvette is equipped with a foldaway hard-top roof. This can be used at speeds of up to 30 mph and can be retracted in just 16 seconds. During the same reveal, Chevrolet also offered a first glimpse of the highly anticipated Corvette C8.R GTLM racer. While no further technical details have been revealed, it is of course mid-engined like the road car it is based on. The C8.R will make its competition debut at the Daytona 24 Hours in January.
Also making its debut at Daytona will be the Mazda 3 TCR. Powered by a 350 bhp four cylinder engine, it was developed together with Long Road Racing and will compete in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge.
Audi and BMW, meanwhile, revealed high performance version of their respective SUV models. From the former come the RS Q3 and the RS Q3 Sportback. Both are powered by the 394bhp five-cylinder engine that also powers the TT RS. Fitted with the same V8 as the range-topping BMW M5 Competition are the X5 M Competition and the X6 M Competition. In 'Competition' trim, the 'S63' engine is good for 616 bhp.

This Sunday, Bonhams had a hugely successful Bonmont Sale. It was the company's first auction in Switzerland for a decade and it included 25 supercars that had been seized by the Swiss government from the vice-president of Equatorial-Guinea. They were all offered at no reserve with the proceeds going to a charity supporting children's projects in Equatorial-Guinea. The results were superb with this virtually brand new Lamborghini Veneno Roadster topping the sale at CHF 8.3 million. Doubling the pre-sale top estimate was this rare Koenigsegg One:1, which changed hands for CHF 4.6 million. Also far exceeding expectations was this, the penultimate Ferrari Enzo, which had just 23 km on its odometer and found a new owner for just over CHF 3 million.
Although not part of the 'Supercar Collection', another high performance machine that sold well was this two-owner Porsche 911 Turbo S Leichtbau. With just two owners from new and less than 15,000 km on the odometer it was offered in time-warp condition.
A few weeks ago, Bonhams also announced that this unique Bugatti Type 55 Figoni Roadster was one of the early consignments of the February, 2020 Grand Palais sale in Paris. Raced at Le Mans when new and fitted with a one-off Figoni body, chassis 55221 is offered for sale for the first time since 1963. There is no pre-sale estimate yet but this car must be high on the list of many Bugatti enthusiasts.

This weekend we were at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for the third Monza Historic. Organised by Peter Auto, the event saw virtually non-stop action for three days. All the familiar grids were represented, so there were sports cars, GTs and touring cars from the 1950s through to virtually the present day were on track. Among the absolute highlights of this event were the two Porsche 917s, a genuine Ferrari 330 GTO and a Bentley Speed 8, which were all raced with great verve by their respective owners. In addition to the Peter Auto grids, a local series for Formula Junior and F3 cars was also part of the program.
We were at the 'temple of speed' throughout the weekend. The result of our efforts is this 220-shot gallery that serves to illustrate our comprehensive report of the 2019 Monza Historic.

The annual RM Sotheby's London sale has changed dates and will now be held towards the end of October. Among the early consignments are a pair of sports racers from the same Swiss collection. Owned from new by the current custodian is this Maserati MC12 Corse. One of the very last of the successful and controversial V12 racer built, this example was raced twice in the 2007 ALMS. At its final contemporary outing, it was qualified on a class pole position in the Petit Le Mans race. The MC12 was then displayed in the owner's private museum and is now offered by its first owner. Eligible for the popular Endurance Racing Legends series, it is estimated to sell for GBP 2 - 2.5 million.
Also raced just twice in period is this Porsche 962C. Crucially, these two outings were at Le Mans in 1990 and 1991 under the Team Trust banner. The best result was a 13th overall in 1990. In more recent years, 962-159 was comprehensively restored to its 1991 configuration by Canepa Design. Offered from the same stable as the MC12, the Group C racer is estimated to sell for GBP 1.1 - 1.6 million.
Another Group C car consigned to the sale is this Jaguar XJR-11. Raced extensively in period, it was also campaigned in historic events in more recent years. No estimate has been given for chassis 590 yet.