2001 Toyota Mr2 Spyder, Gray/silver on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Veneno Roadster, One:1, One-77, LaFerrari, P1, Veyron headline 25-car Bonham's auction

Bonhams is holding a no-reserve auction in fall 2019 that includes some of the most valuable and sought-after supercars of the past decade. The lot of 25 beautiful collector items includes a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, a Koenigsegg One:1, an Aston Martin One-77, a Ferrari LaFerrari, a McLaren P1, and a Bugatti Veyron. The collection, which was seized from a corrupt politician from Equatorial Guinea, is valued at roughly $13 million. If selling off future classics that are still in their infancy as collector items seems strange, it's because this is not a straightforward situation. These cars will be sold off by the State of Geneva, not a person. The collection was previously owned by the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, but the cars were seized when he was placed under investigation for money laundering and unfair management of public interests. These 25 cars, which were located in Geneva, were first sequestered in fall 2016. A trial court ordered them sold off, and the money earned from the sales would be invested in social programs that benefit Equatorial Guinea. And so, Equatorial Guinea is about to see an influx of cash, as every vehicle is valued in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. The rarest might be the Koenigsegg One:1. One of only six remaining, it has 371 miles on the dial, and is valued at roughly $1.8 million. The Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, one of nine in the world, is a close second. It has 202 miles logged, and is valued at about $5.1 million. The Aston Martin One-77 is another rare bird. It is example No. 35 of 77, holds a 7.3-liter V12 engine, and is valued at about $1.4 million. A McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari, and Bugatti Veyron 16.4 round out the top of the list. The remaining cars are not fully detailed, but they include examples from Mercedes-Maybach, Bentley, Maserati and Porsche. The auction will take place on Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Bonmont Golf & Country Club near Lake Geneva. For more photos and information, visit Bonhams.

Maserati's next sports car shown in heavy camo

Maserati has started the process of re-tooling its historic Modena, Italy, factory to build a new sports car scheduled to come out in 2020. Full details about the model remain under wraps — even its name is a mystery — but the very first batch of images provided by Maserati and brought to you exclusively by Autoblog reveal several key points about it, including a few that we didn't see coming. The photos douse cold water on the rumors claiming Maserati's next sports car would be essentially a toned-down version of the Alfieri concept introduced in 2014. The test mule depicted in the images is heavily camouflaged, but its proportions, the size of its cabin, and the huge vents behind the doors suggest it's a mid-engined two-seater, not a front-engined model with a 2+2 interior layout. Autoblog learned the test mule is powered by a completely new drivetrain, but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what it's made up of. Regardless, it was designed and built entirely in-house, and it will spawn a family of drivetrains that will exclusively power the company's vehicles. Starting from scratch is a huge undertaking. Engineers will closely analyze the data gathered during the testing phase, and use it to fine-tune the drivetrain on its research and development department's simulators. The improved components will in turn be road-tested. Maserati's new approach to vehicle design relies heavily on simulators, but head of product Joe Grace told us real-world testing remains hugely important. The company puts about 3 million miles annually on its prototypes. While the photos beg more questions than they answer, they confirm Maserati's renaissance is around the corner. The company will introduce its next new model during the Geneva Motor Show in March 2020, so we expect to learn much more about it in the coming months. It will be followed by the next-generation GranTurismo and GranCabrio, which will be available with the company's first electric powertrain, and by a new SUV positioned below the Levante. Featured Gallery 2020 Maserati sports car test mule spy shots Auto News Spy Photos Geneva Motor Show Maserati Coupe

Little Red Racing Car Kickstarter project a father/son affair [w/video]

Tales of fathers and sons, whether told for adults or for children, never go out of style. It's appropriate then that The Little Red Racing Car, a story about a father and son finding and restoring a 1955 Maserati 300S, is such a stylish piece of work.
Author Dwight Knowlton first started working on The Little Red Racing Car when, after his son was born, he "went looking for the perfect Father/Son/Car book" and couldn't find one. Knowlton's artwork in has been influenced heavily by vintage automotive advertising and Grand Prix posters, and has a very clean, art deco vibe as a result.
Of course, TLRRC is still just a work in progress. Knowlton is hoping the Kickstarter community will help to get the ball rolling, and raise $25,000 to the book printed and distributed. The author even has a stretch goal to have the whole shebang made into and animated film - we love big dreams. Follow on below to hear Knowlton's pitch in his own words, or jump over to his Kickstarter page to look further or buy-in.