Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Corvette ZR1 at Barrett-Jackson

The very first Corvette ZR1 has rolled off the assembly line at General Motors' assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and the proud owner of the 638-horsepower hellraiser was there in person to claim his prize. Chevy dealer and Corvette aficionado Dave Ressler won his supercharged Vette at the Barrett Jackson auction back in January for the astronomical sum of $1 million dollars, which equals about 10 times the ZR1's base price of $103,300. Ressler was allowed to sit behind the wheel of his rarified Vette as it completed its assembly run and exited the factory, and let his granddaughter, Ayden Lynn, ride along shotgun. The special ZR1 is set apart from other Blue Devlis with a unique VIN number and a LeMans Blue paint job that will appear on no other car.

After being performance tested, the ZR1 was put in a trailer and carted back to Montana where it will be put in a museum with Ressler's 45 other Vettes, including his #003 1953 Corvette. We know, that's no way to treat a thoroughbred like the ZR1, but at least Ressler's million bucks went to a good cause.

Check out a local news report of the occasion after the jump.

[Source: Corvette Blogger]

The seller states he's not really sure what this car is worth. Here's our estimate: it's worth even less than a regular '89 Scirocco with 123,000 miles. Why? Because it's been molested into a Delorean imposter. Not just any Delorean, either, but the Back To The Future Delorean, which so many people feel compelled to recreate as a rolling manifestation of their overdeveloped love for a movie prop. Don't get us wrong, the BTTF DMC's masterful design has had astounding resonance with the public, becoming a real icon of its time. It's just that while the original design by Andrew Probert and Ron Cobb was something new, rehashing it endlessly for twenty-five years has gotten tiresome.

With that out of our system, let's go on to say that the seller has a sense of humor about this car. It was used to promote a primary school play, +1 for kickin' it with the kiddies, and there's obviously a lot of effort here. It's also heartwarming that the mods were perpetrated on a somewhat more common Scirocco, versus a rarer Delorean. The Flux capacitor and time circuits have not been tested, according to the seller, so caveat emptor. If it actually works, we'd love to go back and whisper in VW's ear to build more Sciroccos, and do likewise with Johnny Z, too. Bids currently stand at £156 with the reserve not met, so you're not yet OUTATIME. Thanks for the tip, Tim!


[Source: eBay]

Most car enthusiasts know about the Lamborghini Miura, one of the most beautiful and desirable cars from the '60s and '70s, but few know about the one-off Miura Jota and subsequent SV/J models. The Jota was built in 1970 as an experimental car to test new ideas for the upcoming Miura SV. It featured a lightweight body with extra vents, a split sump engine (implemented on later SV models), "Megaphono" exhaust pipes, and a bevy of bespoke features. After the car was finished, it was sold to a loyal customer. Unfortunately, the Jota was involved in an accident and was completely destroyed when it burned to the ground. However, when several of Lamborghini's customers heard about the car, they asked if they could buy one of their own. Lamborghini decided not to officially build a production Jota, but they did offer conversions based on the SV model. The Lamborghini Registry lists only six "works" SV/J models, all featuring the Jota bodywork. The one seen here is chassis number 4892, and it will be auctioned off at the upcoming Russo and Steele classic car auction in Monterey. It's tough to tell what the car will go for since the SV/J models rarely ever change hands, but you can bet it won't be a paltry sum.

[Source: Russo and Steele]

Click image above for high-res gallery of pics from our first night at Goodwood

We got back from the Members' Ball at Goodwood House and we wanted to share some of our shots from the opening event. Although we were reduced to using a point-and-shoot, we thought you still might like to see some of the cars and sights at this year's Festival of Speed. Lord March puts on a fantastic event and the night before the whole thing starts the members get to attend a special dinner where the Bonhams auction offerings are open for viewing and the Central Display for this year's festivities gets unveiled.

As this is a big anniversary for Land Rover, they were chosen as the featured marque. The display featured five special silver Land Rovers climbing a giant steel girder jungle gym of sorts. After seeing some of the cars in the auction tent and having a wonderful supper, the fireworks and unveiling were almost too much, but there was more. Among the many featured categories this year are some vintage dragsters from the '50s and '60s that still run in a special historic series. As a treat to the members, a few of them were fired up so the Brits could experience the sight, sound, feel, taste and smell of these Hemi-powered slingshots. With so few Americans in attendance, it was nice to see these racers being given such honored treatment. It truly brought tears to our eyes. Actually that was the nitro-methane. Enjoy the gallery.

All photos copyright © 2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs Inc.

Click above for a gallery illustrating what's on the block from Super Aguri.

In the fast-paced world of Formula One, teams come and go. Only most of the time, they're just changing names and management (in fact, Ferrari and Williams are the only teams still on the grid that were founded under the same name and same ownership as they remain today). So Jordan Grand Prix, for a most vivid example, became Midland F1 Racing in 2006, then Spyker in 2007 before its metamorphosis into Force India for 2008. Super Aguri was another story. Founded by former racing driver Aguri Suzuki, the team was the first in years to actually put up the bond necessary to start a completely new entry. Unfortunately, the uniquely Japanese-named team never had the money it needed to succeed, and after a little over two years, the team folded. But not before millions upon millions were spent on cars, equipment and everything else.

So what happened to all that stuff? Well, after Super Aguri went into bankruptcy administration earlier this year, the team's remaining assets are to be liquidated by British auction house SHM Smith Hodgkinson at the end of this month. Among the assets up on the block will be a dozen F1 racing cars, a fleet of transporter trucks and four autoclaves. So if you're looking to buy yourself the remains of an F1 team, this could be your chance.

[Source: SAF1-auction.com via autosport, Photos: Getty]

Click for hi-res gallery of the Agent Provocateur MINI Clubman

Back in April we brought you initial news of the special-edition MINI Clubman designed by British lingerie house Agent Provocateur, and gladly brought you updates with more photos and made cracks at the expense of Max Mosley along the way. The vehicle has now been sold on eBay in Austria as an AIDS fundraiser – which, as one of our commenters noted, seems a little at odds with the overtly sexual theme of the vehicle – for a whopping €45k (equivalent to about $70,000) after no fewer than 77 bids were placed over the course of the ten-day auction.

Of course, the identity of the buyer – listed as rene181066 – was not disclosed. We'd think it was a certain head of a certain motorsport body, but the buyer's feedback is flawless at 100%, so there goes that theory.

Check out the vehicle's stats after the jump and peruse the NSFW images in the gallery below.

[Source: eBay.at via WCF]

Last month China's Sichuan province was devastated by a massive earthquake that killed as many as 70,000 people. If you've wanted to donate to help the survivors but were waiting for just the right opportunity, this could be it.

Our friends over at China Car Times are holding several auctions with the proceeds going to the British Red Cross. Three of the auctions require a little travel for us Americans, but just might be worth a special trip. One is a private tour of the London Taxi factory with a chance to drive one of the iconic cars and some special merchandise from the factory. The second is for the chance to be one of the first people to tour MG's Longbridge factory in Birmingham, England, since taken over by Shanghai Automotive. Not only that, but the top bidder will get to drive the new MG TF LE500. The third auction is your chance to try out the latest vehicles from Lotus right there on its test track in Hethel Norwich, England.

Can't leave the country? Line up behind a couple of Autoblog staffers to bid on the 1:18 scale models of the Lifan 520. These are usually only given to VIP visitors to the Lifan factory and are produced in exacting detail. They're gonna look good in my collection.

The final auction should appeal to anyone with an international business hoping to break into the Chinese market. China Car Times will give to the winning bidder one month of advertising on its Web site, which is a great opportunity to see what your business could do over there.

[Source: China Car Times]

Click above for gallery of the Super Snake

Despite the Shelby GT500KR's claim of supremacy over the dominion that is the open road, there is yet another Mustang that is even more extreme. Shelby's Super Snake package for the GT500 offers up to 725 horsepower and even more aggressive options for the suspension and braking systems. Available as a post-sale conversion for the GT500, the transformation can be performed at the Shelby facility in Las Vegas or at one of the official mod shops around the country. There have been a handful of owners who have already converted their GT500s, and one is already for sale on eBay. Something seems wrong with the seller's math, however, because a "Buy It Now" price of $200,000 is far more than the cost of a GT500 plus the $31,995 needed for the 725 horsepower conversion. We could understand the markup if these were in high demand, but pretty much any GT500 owner can send his car to get converted. So unless you really can't wait, keep your mouse away from the bidding button and just enjoy the gallery below. Thanks for the tip, Brad!

[Source: eBay Motors]

Way back in February, General Motors announced it would be listing all of it Certified Pre-Owned vehicles on eBay Motors, and it took until now to actually make that happen. To go along with GM, Chrysler and Lexus have also joined up, with eBay Motors making a special section of its website specifically for CPO vehicles. The new site, which can be found here, went live yesterday and is sponsored exclusively by Lexus. It's also provided at no cost to any dealer looking for another outlet to advertise its inventory.

A quick check of the new hub shows that both eBay's classic auction-style listings and regular classified ads are listed together. The site's search functionality allows users to find vehicles located near their zip code, meaning it should prove awfully easy to find that brand-spanking-used Chrysler Sebring you've been foaming at the mouth for.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

For those who just can't get enough NASCAR in their lives comes the Officially Licensed NASCAR 60th Year Motorcycle Series. The bikes were commissioned by Destination Daytona and built by Thunder Mountain Custom Cycles. Specifications include a genuine Harley-Davidson Twin Cam 110B motor matched to one of HD's new six-speed overdrive transmissions. While it's not a bad looking bike with its black-and-red paint scheme and whitewall tires, we question whether the fact that it's status as one of 60 officially licensed bikes makes it worth the $48,600 asking price. After all, there is nothing revolutionary about the bike, and it could be replicated for way less money. Just saying...

Whatever your particular opinion regarding the pricing, the bikes do come with some perks, like tickets to a private VIP motorcycle delivery event at the Coke Pavilion at Destination Daytona on July 3, along with tickets to the race that weekend. For the true circle track junkie, perhaps that would make the bike a better deal. The last bike, serial number 60, will be auctioned off to benefit Kyle Petty's Victory Junction charity in Daytona during the weekend of the Coke Zero 400, which will run as it usually does on the first Saturday of July.

[Source: Bruce Rossmeyer via Cyril Huze Blog]