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Drive like a prince: Join us for a walk through Monaco's car collection

Small, crowded, and a royal pain in the trunk lid to drive into during rush hour, Monaco sounds like an improbable location for a huge car museum. And yet, this tiny city-state has been closely linked to car culture for over a century. It hosts two major racing events every year, many of its residents would qualify for a frequent shopper card if Rolls-Royce issued one, and Prince Rainier III began assembling a collection of cars in the late 1950s. He opened his collection to the public in 1993 and the museum quickly turned into a popular tourist attraction. The collection continued to grow after his death in April 2005; it moved to a new facility located right on Hercules Port in July 2022. Monaco being Monaco, you'd expect to walk into a room full of the latest, shiniest, and most powerful supercars ever to shred a tire. That's not the case: while there is no shortage of high-horsepower machines, the first cars you see after paying ˆ10 (approximately $11) to get in are pre-war models. In that era, the template for the car as we know it in 2023 hadn't been created, so an eclectic assortment of expensive and dauntingly experimental machines roamed whatever roads were available to them. One is the Leyat Helica, which was built in France in 1921 with a 1.2-liter air-cooled flat-twin sourced from the world of aviation. Fittingly, the two-cylinder spun a massive, plane-like propeller. Government vehicles get a special spot in the museum. They range from a Cadillac Series 6700 with an amusing blend of period-correct French-market yellow headlights and massive fins to a 2011 Lexus LS 600h with a custom-made transparent roof panel that was built by Belgian coachbuilder Carat Duchatelet for Prince Albert II's wedding. Here's where it all gets a little weird: you've got a 1952 Austin FX3, a Ghia-bodied 1959 Fiat 500 Jolly, a 1960 BMW Isetta, and a 1971 Lotus Seven. That has to be someone's idea of a perfect four-car garage.  One of the most significant cars in the collection lurks in the far corner of the main hall, which is located a level below the entrance. At first glance, it's a kitted-out Renault 4CV with auxiliary lights, a racing number on the front end, and a period-correct registration number issued in the Bouches-du-Rhone department of France. It doesn't look all that different than the later, unmodified 4CV parked right next to it. Here's what's special about it: this is one of the small handful of Type 1063 models built by Renault for competition.

Lamborghini unveils Aventador SVJ 63 Roadster and Huracan EVO GT Celebration

Lamborghini didn't stop at removing the roof of the limited edition Aventador SVJ in order to create the Aventador SVJ Roadster. Instead, the Italian carmaker puts its Centro Stile design division in a room with the Ad Personam customization division, and they came up with colored-keyed takes on what's called the Aventador SVJ 63 Roadster. The "63" refers to both the year Ferruccio Lamborghini founded his car company, and the number of open-topped SVJs that will be made. The eight exterior themes that will be exclusive to this car start with the one shown on the Pebble Beach concept lawn, in matte Grigio Acheso with details like the "SVJ" and "63" graphics in Arancio Dac. Matte Titanium center-lock wheels get Arancio locking plates.  The interior will offer three themes in the SVJ's usual materials, Alcantara and Lamborghini's CarbonSkin. A badge on the steering wheel plays off the "63" logo inscribed on the back wall in lasered Alcantara and CarbonSkin. The show car's cabin rocks it up with Grigio Octans, Grigio Cronus, and Arancio Dryope (orange), with the carbon fiber seats finished with white Q-Citura cross-stitching. The news about this car is little more than a public service announcement, though, since all 63 examples are already sold. Lamborghini put two more surprises in its Monterey trailer, the first being the Huracan EVO GT Celebration. Thanks to the Grasser Racing Team and Paul Miller Racing, Lamborghini's won both the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring two years in a row. Limited to 36 units — the combined race durations in hours — the Huracan EVO GT Celebration plucks the GRT livery motif for its street version. The display version wears Verde Egeria and Arancio Aten, but there are nine combinations possible by combining the three available primary body colors and three available secondary colors. The Huracan's hexagon design motif is used to frame the “11,” the number of the GRT racer that won Daytona and Sebring this year. Badges on the sides read "Daytona 24" and "Sebring 12," and the driver's B-pillar is adorned with a carbon fiber plate inscribed with "X of 36." Race fans who want to go all the way can order a Lamborghini Squadra Corse shield placed on the roof between Italian and U.S. flags, and laurel wreaths on the rear fenders. The interior borrows the primary exterior color for cross-stitching on the new racing seats introduced on this car.

Ares Design Panther a worthy tribute to the De Tomaso Pantera

Ares Design finally has its Panther ready. Codenamed Project 1 because it launches the Italian coachbuilder's Legends Reborn series, the Panther prowls as a modern interpretation of yesteryear's De Tomaso Pantera. Based on an all-wheel drive Lamborghini Huracan, the Panther does well to mimic the fat-back wedge of the original, and restores pop-up headlights to the 21st century performance cars. The specs go some way beyond De Tomaso's effort. Thanks to an ECU tune, sports catalytic converters and a new exhaust, the 5.2-liter V10 is rated at 650 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. That's 300 hp and 110 lb-ft away from the Ford-sourced 5.8-liter Cleveland V8 in the 1988 Pantera GT5 S. It's also 20 hp beyond the current Huracan Evo. The bodywork's been spun from carbon fiber, yielding a 3,138-pound dry curb weight, which is 91 pounds more than the Huracan Performante, four pounds more than the Evo version. Six-piston Brembos up front and four-piston units in back clamp carbon carbon ceramic discs behind a sweet set of staggered bronze wheels, 20 inches ahead, 21 inches astern. Those brakes will come in handy considering the 202-mph top speed. The interior can be dressed up any way an owner wishes, naturally. The demo model smothers the Lamborghini interior in even more carbon fibers, leather, Alcantara and cross-stitching. Ares Design will build only 21 Panthers, with first deliveries in May. The conversion takes three months, the price opens at 615,000 euros before options, or $696,300 in U.S. specie. None of those figures have any bearing on you, though, because all 21 build slots have already been paid for. So enjoy the gallery.