The new year is almost here and that means the start of a new auction season, which traditionally kicks off in Scottsdale, Arizona. One of the major sales is staged by RM Sotheby's, who have announced this one-off Mercedes-Benz 540 K Coupe as one of the headlining consignments. The car started life as a Cabriolet A but was later converted it into the unique Coupe that it still is today. The 540 K is offered in highly original condition and from a single family ownership of 50 years.
This week, several upcoming competition cars were announced. Among them is the BMW M2 CS Racing, which is set to make its debut during the 2020 season. The German manufacturer also offered a first glimpse of the M4 GT3 that is not due until the 2021 season.
Honda Performance Development have revealed a race-ready version of the Civic in the form of the Civic Type R TC. It is features 330hp turbo engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. For twice the price, HPD can also sell you a Civic built to full TCR specifications.
Ahead of the official launch at the Tokyo Auto Salon in January, Toyota offered a first glimpse of the GR Yaris, which is the second high performance production road car developed by Toyota Gazoo Racing.

The Lotus Type 72 ranks as one of the all-time Grand Prix cars, propelling drivers to the world championship twice. In 1972, it was Emerson Fittipaldi, who used the Type 72 to win the title and the car he raced predominantly was chassis R5. He used this car to score the final two of a total of five wins in his championship winning year. It was later crashed and replaced by a new car using the same number. The wreck was however retained and over the last five years R5 was restored to its former glory by Classic Team Lotus. It was ready in time for Fittipaldi to be re-united with his favourite Type 72 earlier this year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Another Classic Team Lotus to debut at Goodwood was this Lotus 38 Ford. Boasting the ever striking STP livery re-applied during the recent restoration, 38/7 was raced at the 1967 Indy 500 by Jim Clark. Following its retirement from contemporary racing, it was re-painted in Team Lotus colours but fortunately, it has now been turned back to they Day-Glo orange used in 1967.
At this year's Grand Prix de l'Age d'Or this Lotus 47 GT made its return to the racing track for the first time in nearly four decades. It was raced in period in Portugal and Angola and has been owned by the same family for over 35 years. We later also caught up with 47/GT/21 at the Monza Historic.

One of the great additions to the historic racing roster is the Endurance Racing Legends series for recent sports racers and GT cars. From this season, there are actual races for these cars and the winner in both rounds at the Spa Classic was this Dallara SP1. The car had originally been conceived by Dallara and Oreca for the Chrysler works effort ahead of the 2002 season. It finished fifth at Le Mans behind the Audis and Bentleys and was later raced by Rollcentre Racing. Back from a spell in North America, chassis DO-004 was returned to its works livery and raced at Spa and demonstrated at Goodwood this year.
McLaren have announced yet another addition to their line-up in the form of the 620R. It is a road legal version of the 570S GT4 competition car. As the name suggests, the twin-turbo V8 produces 620 metric horsepower in the 620R. Priced at GBP 250,000, the 620R will enter production in January with deliveries starting the following month. Buyers in Europe or the United States will receive a Pure McLaren Track Day with expert driving tuition at a race track.

Tomorrow, British auctioneer will host their blue ribband sale at the company's Bond Street headquarters. The headlining lot is definitely the Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight we looked at a few weeks ago. Further interesting consignments include three examples from the collection of Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay. The most valuable of the trio is this beautifully restored Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 Lightweight. It is one of 200 built that was originally owned by a friend of the Porsche family. Chassiss 911 360 1097 joined Jay Kay's collection in 2008. Another Porsche offered from the singer's stable is this low mileage Carrera GT. This Ferrari F12tdf was acquired new by Jay Kay, so is offered from the first owner. During his three and a half years of ownership, he only covered 1,600 miles in this mighty Ferrari.
Another interesting car that will cross the block on Sunday is a royal example of the Aston Martin Virage 6.3 Volante. Built using the mighty 330 bhp version of the quad-cam V8, this particular example was commissioned by none other than the Prince of Wales. He would own the bespoke Aston Martin for close to 15 years and it was later also displayed at the Aston Martin factory for several years. The ex-Prince Charles Virage can be yours for an estimated GBP 225,000 - 275,000.

Hot on the heels of the announcement of Peugeot's return to sports car racing a decade after the hasty withdrawal early in 2012, the French company now revealed a first glimpse of the machine due to race in the new hypercar class. While only a head on rendering was released, the plan is to field a car complete with hybrid technology and in partnership with Swiss watch brand and current LMP1 squad Rebellion.
The recent announcement made us reminisce of the 908 raced by the French manufacturer during the 2011 season. It was set to be back out in 2012 but a last minute decision saw the programme scrapped when the pit enclosure for the Sebring 12 Hours had already been built. We were recently reminded of just how fast these cars when this 908, now in private hands, dominated at the Dix Mille Tours. Now run by Equipe Europe, chassis 908-04 is a two-time race winner.
Fast is never fast enough for the good men at Hennessey Performance Engineering, so it was only a matter of time before they would work their magic on the all-new mid-engined C8 Corvette. The result is this HPE1200 Twin Turbo Corvette. The type name leaves little room to speculate as it will indeed by powered by a 1,200 bhp, twin-turbo version of the new LT2 V8 engine. Hennessey will also offer a supercharger kit that raises the power of the standard engine to 700 bhp for those who feel a bit faster is indeed fast enough.

Leading auctioneer RM Sotheby's staged the first ever Abu Dhabi sale on the start-finish straight of this weekend's Grand Prix on Saturday evening. Topping the $31.3 million sale was this one-off Pagani Zonda Aether. Built late in 2017 on a brand new chassis, this Roadster is one of around a dozen custom Zondas built with the 760hp version of the naturally aspirated Mercedes-Benz AMG V12. Crucially, this engine was mated to the desirable six-speed manual gearbox. The unique machine sold for $6.8 million, which is a new world record for a Zonda.
Jaguar have launched a comprehensively revised F-Type last night. It features an all-new front facia and more subtle revisions throughout. The range-topping model is the F-Type R, which is powered by the 575hp version of the familiar supercharged V8.
Topping the Audi Q8 range will be this RS Q8. This is powered by a 600hp twin-turbo V8, which is complemented by a mild hybrid system connected to the alternator and can generate up to 12 kW of power.