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2013 Quail Motorsports Gathering wows with modern masterpieces

Pebble Beach is an outstanding event if you're interested in pre-war classics, but outside of the parking lots, it's a bit light on more modern stuff. The Quail, now in its eleventh year, leans far more towards the present day, and has become one of the must-attend events of the Monterey car week.
Like Pebble, though, it's a highly exclusive affair, with triple-digit ticket prices that usually sell out at the same rate as a Justin Bieber concert. If you're one of the lucky few to hold a pass, though, you'll be rubbing elbows with a who's who of the auto world. One of the highlights of this year's event was the appearance of one Michael Schumacher, who showed up alongside one of his Formula 1 cars. A retrospective was also held on Lamborghini's 50 years of production, as well as another celebration of Aston Martin's centennial. There was also a tribute to the late Martin Swig, one of the co-founders of the California Mille, who passed away last year.
The cars, not surprisingly, were epic. Lamborghini, Pagani, Spyker, Rolls-Royce, BMW, McLaren, Bugatti and Galpin Ford all showed new models to the public for the first time, while there were also appearances by Jim Glickenhaus and his Ferrari P4/5 and P4/5 Competizione, marking the first time the coach-built masterpiece and its racing offspring were shown together. Finally, the Petersen Museum showed off its wears, including the late Steve McQueen's gorgeous Jaguar XK-SS.

London man keys $150k Aston Martin while pushing stroller

Police are looking for a man who was caught on a dashboard camera keying a supercar last month while out for a stroll with a child in east London. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage was sitting in a parking spot in the London borough of Hackney. It was minding its own business – with its dashboard camera running – when it caught the eye of man passing by. Not unusual for a sleek sports car, but what happened next was unexpected. Instead of admiring its British design from afar he angled the pram off the curb and walked toward the car. Footage shows he then took an object out of his pocket and dragged it along the side of the Vantage's aluminum body panel. The owner of the Vantage told the BBC the damage cost over $14,000 to fix. In terms of cars to destroy, this vandal has excellent taste. The Vantage is small, light, and agile. The most affordable version, the V8 Vantage GT, comes with a full leather and Alcantara cabin, with thick contrasting stitching, combined with real carbon fiber and wood finished in piano black. It can sprint from zero to 60 mph in about 4.6 seconds. News Source: BBC Auto News Weird Car News Aston Martin Videos viral video vantage scratch

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato expected to fetch over $16M

Classic car collectors will want to head to New York on December 10. That's where RM Sotheby's will be holding its Driven by Disruption sale, with some of the most desirable pieces of automotive history on the docket. And arguably the most tempting of them is the 1962 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato pictured here. The start of a long and distinguished partnership between Aston Martin and Zagato, the DB4 GT is considered by many (ourselves included) to be one of the most beautiful automobiles ever made. You can judge for yourself after looking over the images in the gallery above. Only 19 were originally made, of which this, the 14th example, was the only one delivered new to Australia. After undergoing a complete restoration in 2002, chassis number DB4GT/0186/R won first-in-class awards at both Pebble Beach and Villa d'Este. RM hasn't published pre-sale estimates for how much it expects to get for this one, but in correspondence with Autoblog, a spokesperson for the auction house revealed that "it is expected to fetch in excess of $16 million USD when it crosses the podium in December." That would eclipse by order of magnitude the prices fetched at auction for previous examples in recent years, which (according to the records at Sports Car Market) have traded hands for around $2.5 million. Of course, the Aston isn't the only classic automobile consigned for the event. With two months still to go before the auction takes place, RM has confirmed a 1955 Siata 208S Spider that's expected to fetch upwards of $1.5 million, a '53 Ferrari 250 Europa (~$4 million), and a '38 Bugatti Type 57C Atalante (>$2 million). Fans of more modern and rare equipment, however, may be more enticed by the Lamborghini Concept S previously announced for the auction, expected to go for as much as $3 million.