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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.

Volkswagen breaks 40-year-old sales record in 2012

The last time Volkswagen moved this many vehicles in America in one year, Richard Nixon was still a President in good standing, Let It Be was a radio hit and each car wearing the VW badge boasted an air-cooled engine. That's right, with a grand total of 580,286 vehicles sold in the US last year, the VW Group has broken its own four-decades-old sales record by 2,899 vehicles.
Of that 580k total sold, 438k were Volkswagens and 139k were Audi products - increases of 35.1 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively, in year-over-year sales. The ultra-premium members of the VW group also fared well; Bentley delivered 2,315 vehicles for a 23.3-precent increase, and Lamborghini delivered 520 units for a 52.9-percent jump. Bugatti, we're told is "right on track."
Jetta (pictured) sales paced the marque with 170k models sold, and Passat also finished very strong with sales of 117k total. Tiguan also racked up its best year on file, with 31,731 models shifted.

Lamborghini Huracan Spyder tipped for Geneva debut

If you're enamored of the Lamborghini Huracan but have been waiting (and saving) for the convertible version, you may have to wait a little longer. According to Motor Trend, the drop-top Huracan won't make its debut before the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. That's almost eight months from now. The basic parameters of what the Huracan Spyder (as it's likely to be called) aren't hard to forecast. It will in all likelihood carry the same 5.2-liter V10 as the coupe, with the same output of 602 horsepower and 413 pound-feet of torque driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Expect a slight performance penalty in return for the open-top experience as compared to the fixed-roof version, which is expected to boast a 0-62 time of 3.2 seconds and a 202-mile-per-hour top speed. Other powertrain configurations may follow, but the roadster is likely to pack that same configuration at launch. While the larger, more powerful Aventador is about to breed its fourth model variant in the form of the Superveloce Roadster, the Huracan has only been made available thus far in one version. Our sources at Lamborghini tell us that will change soon, however, with numerous variants to follow – just like they did with the prolific Gallardo that came before. And the Spyder could be the first of the many to follow. The bigger question is what kind of roof mechanism Lamborghini will go with for this latest open-top supercar. The Gallardo Spyder used a fabric roof mechanism (removable roof panels are featured on the Aventador Roadster), however the Huracan Spyder will have to contend with rivals like the McLaren 650S Spider and the new Ferrari 488 Spider – both of which incorporate folding hard tops. The latter was just released this week and is set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September, giving it a good half year before its rival from Bologna hits the scene. Related Video: