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Are supercars becoming less special?

There's little doubt that we are currently enjoying the golden age of automotive performance. Dozens of different models on sale today make over 500 horsepower, and seven boast output in excess of 700 hp. Not long ago, that kind of capability was exclusive to supercars – vehicles whose rarity, performance focus, and requisite expense made them aspirational objects of desire to us mortals. But more than that, supercars have historically offered a unique driving experience, one which was bespoke to a particular model and could not be replicated elsewhere. But in recent years, even the low-volume players have been forced to find the efficiencies and economies of scale that formerly hadn't been a concern for them, and in turn the concept of the supercar as a unique entity unto itself is fading fast. The blame doesn't fall on one particular manufacturer nor a specific production technique. Instead, it's a confluence of different factors that are chipping away at the distinction of these vehicles. It's not all bad news – Lamborghini's platform sharing with Audi for the Gallardo and the R8 yielded a raging bull that was more reliable and easier to live with on a day-to-day basis, and as a result it went on to become the best-selling Lambo in the company's history. But it also came at the cost of some of the Italian's exclusivity when eerily familiar sights and sounds suddenly became available wearing an Audi badge. Even low-volume players have been forced to find economies of scale. Much of this comes out of necessity, of course. Aston Martin's recent deal with Mercedes-AMG points toward German hardware going under the hood and into the cabin of the upcoming DB11, and it's safe to assume that this was not a decision made lightly by the Brits, as the brand has built a reputation for the bespoke craftsmanship of its vehicles. There's little doubt that the DB11 will be a fine automobile, but the move does jeopardize some of the characteristic "specialness" that Astons are known for. Yet the world is certainly better off with new Aston Martins spliced with DNA from Mercedes-AMG rather than no new Astons at all, and the costs of developing cutting-edge drivetrains and user interfaces is a burden that's becoming increasingly difficult for smaller manufacturers to bear. Even Ferrari is poised to make some dramatic changes in the way it designs cars.

Fangio's Ferrari sells for $28 million in New York [w/videos]

See this Ferrari? It just set the record as the most valuable automobile sold at auction this year. It's a 1956 Ferrari 290 MM driven by the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio, and it sold last weekend in New York for an astonishing $28.05 million. The speedster was built for Fangio to drive in the 1956 Mille Miglia – the last time the Argentinian would enter the race, which was shut down as a competitive event the following year. But before chassis number 0626 was retired, it was driven by such legends as Phil Hill, Alfonso de Portago, and Wolfgang von Trips. Ferrari only made four examples, and between its provenance and its pristine condition – it never crashed – this 290 managed to exceed its pre-sale estimate. In the process, 0626 powered its way into the record books as the most expensive car sold at auction in 2015, the most valuable that RM has ever handled, and the highest price ever paid for a vehicle in New York City. In fact the only cars ever sold at auction for more than this one were another Ferrari (the 250 GTO that Bonhams sold last year for $35 million) and another of Fangio's racers (the Mercedes W196 also sold by Bonhams for $29.6 million in 2013). Though Fangio's Ferrari was far and away the top lot of the day, it wasn't the only multi-million-dollar automobile sold as part of RM Sotheby's Driven by Disruption auction. A 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato set a new record for British automobiles at $14.3 million. A Ferrari 250 GT Series I Cabriolet sold for $5.7 million, a Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow went for $3.7 million, and another Ferrari 250 Europa sold for $3.3 million – as did Floyd Mayweather's Enzo. A '72 Lamborghini Miura SV fetched $2.4 million, and Janis Joplin's Porsche 356 set a new record for its type and well exceeded expectations at $1.7 million. All told, the event generated a massive $73.5 million in sales, of which the Fangio Ferrari alone accounted for over a third. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Berger and Vettel swap F1 cars old and new at the Red Bull Ring

This weekend the Formula One circus heads to Spielberg. No, not the Hollywood director, but the town in Austria that's home to the Österreichring. Subsequently known as the A1-Ring, these days it's called the Red Bull Ring, which makes this weekend's revived Austrian Grand Prix something of a home race for the defending champion Red Bull Racing team. But long before that it was the home race of the sixteen F1 drivers that call Austria their home - not the least of them Gerhard Berger.
The only Austrian driver to have won a grand prix (ten of them, all told) but not a championship, Berger was a fixture of F1 racing in the 1980s and 90s, spending much of his career driving for Ferrari. He later ran Scuderia Toro Rosso for three seasons, during which time Sebastian Vettel won his first (and still the team's only) grand prix. So with the Austrian Grand Prix back on the calendar for this weekend, the two highly accomplished drivers headed to the Red Bull Ring for a little juxtaposition.
Gerhard rolled in with the Ferrari F1/87-88C in which he won the 1988 Italian Grand Prix at Monza (which was, incidentally, the same race that Vettel won for STR twenty years later under Ferrari power), and Seb in his championship-winning RB8. Then they switched off, giving the four-time world champion his first chance to drive a grand prix racer with three pedals. If you can't believe that, it's also (as far as we can tell) the first time, despite years of neck-and-neck competition and retention of some of the best drivers on the grid, that a Red Bull or Toro Rosso driver has driven a Ferrari F1 car, and vice versa. See how it went down in the video below.