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RM Sotheby's 2015 Monterey auction sets records

RM Sotheby's wrapped up three days of beautiful cars crossing the block during Monterey Car Week with a company record of $172.7 million in vehicles sold. The first day's Pinnacle Portfolio collection alone brought in $75.4 million, a new high for a one-day, single-vendor auction. While nothing ever topped the $17.6 million 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, the hammer continued to fall on some very expensive vehicles each day. Expected to clear over $11 million, the sale of a 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione 'Tour de France' easily managed that with a final price of $13.2 million. Multiple bidders on the phone and in the room desperately wanted this famous racer, and it drove the price up. To make this thoroughbred worth the lavish amount, the coupe won the 1956 Tour de France series of events and was among seven with this body by Scaglietti. Many of the top sellers came from the first night's Pinnacle Portfolio, but records continued to be broken over the weekend. Notably, a 1953 Jaguar C-Type Works Lightweight brought $13.2 million to make it the most expensive Jag ever at auction. Also among RM Sotheby's top sellers were a 1950 Ferrari 275S/340 America Barchetta at $7.975 million and a 1952 Jaguar XK120 Supersonic for $2,062,500. Take a look at a few of these special vehicles in the gallery above. HISTORIC FERRARI 250 GT 'TOUR DE FRANCE' LEADS THIRD NIGHT OF RECORD SALES AT RM SOTHEBY'S MONTEREY World's largest collector car auction house concludes three day event with more than $172.7 million in auction and post-auction sales MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA (August 15, 2015) - A historic 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione 'Tour de France' set a new auction record for the model tonight, selling for an outstanding $13.2 million before another packed house at RM Sotheby's Monterey event. Spurring a lively bidding contest between multiple collectors in the room and on the telephones, the influential Ferrari is the actual car that instituted the 'Tour de France' nomenclature following its overall victory at that legendary race in 1956. The fifth of only seven Scaglietti-bodied first-series competition berlinettas, it was sold new to the Marquis Alfonso de Portago, the flamboyant and daring Spanish driver, who, joined by his close friend Ed Nelson, piloted to car to first place overall at the 1956 Tour de France Auto.

Cat Scratch Fever: Jaguar's turnaround looks toward the US

It is ironic that a British car company, steeped in the European sports-car tradition and now owned by an Indian industrial conglomerate, will ambitiously be seeking to attract customers in the United States with, of all things, a truck. But there it is: Jaguar's beefy F-Pace crossover, the first SUV in the company's 80-year history, hit the ground last month at the Frankfurt motor show. The F-Pace – along with the new XE sedan designed to take on the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 both in Europe and on these shores – is spearheading the brand's hoped-for turnaround on this side of the Pond. In the States, Jaguar is still a big player for Tata Motors of India, which bought Jaguar Land Rover from Ford for $2.3 billion after months of back-and-forth negotiations in 2008. It seemed like an incredibly brassy move at the time, when the economy worldwide was reeling and Britain's automotive industry was on its heels. And while the Jaguar brand name has a grand historical resonance, in the first nine months of 2015 it moved just over 11,000 cars in the US, down five percent for the same period the previous year. But if Porsche can capitalize on SUV sales, so can Jaguar. The tea leaves are promising come next spring, when both new premium luxury models arrive in the US. The F-Pace will have a starting price of about $43,000; the sedan range starts at a competitive $35,000. View 25 Photos Architecturally, both models are similar, with a modular aluminum chassis, and, for the F-Pace, a range of gasoline and diesel engines for Europe as well as rear- or all-wheel drive. For the American market, the model-year 2017 crossover will launch with a 380-horsepower gasoline V6 mated to an eight-speed transmission and all-wheel drive. Later in 2016, a 180-hp four-cylinder Ingenium diesel is expected to be added to the lineup. Both models are currently built in the UK, although if demand increases, Jaguar is likely to shift some production to Brazil, China, or Eastern Europe. I wanted a Jaguar that was designed as a crossover, not the other way round. For Jaguar design director Ian Callum, who showed up at the SUV's formal debut in Frankfurt, skepticism – did we mention that Jaguar was a sports-car company? – turned to enthusiasm as his team worked to develop some "drama" in the SUV's shape. "I wanted a Jaguar that was designed as a crossover, not the other way round," he said.

UK car output falls 14% in March, may get worse with no-deal Brexit

LONDON — British car output fell for the 10th month in a row in March, hit by a slowdown in key foreign markets, and the sector stands to suffer a lot more if the country leaves the European Union without a deal, an industry body said on Tuesday. Output tumbled by an annual 14.4 percent to 126,195 cars in March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said. Exports, which account for nearly four out of every five cars made in Britain, were down by 13.4 percent. The SMMT said analysis it had commissioned predicted output would fall this year to 1.36 million units from 1.52 million in 2018, assuming London can secure a transition deal with the EU. If Britain has to rely instead on World Trade Organization rules for its trade with the bloc, which include import tariffs, output is forecast to fall by around 30 percent to 1.07 million units in 2021, returning to mid-1980s levels, the SMMT said. The forecasts were produced for SMMT by AutoAnalysis, a consultancy. Prime Minister Theresa May has secured a delay to the Brexit deadline until Oct. 31, giving her more time to try to break an impasse in parliament over the terms of Britain's departure from the EU. Foreign minister Jeremy Hunt traveled to Japan earlier this month to try to persuade the Japanese government and Toyota, which has a big presence in Britain, that London was determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit. "Just a few years ago, industry was on track to produce 2 million cars by 2020 — a target now impossible with Britain's reputation as stable and attractive business environment undermined," SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said. "All parties must find a compromise urgently so we can set about repairing the damage and diverting energy and investment to the technological challenges that will define the future of the global industry." (Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by David Milliken)