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Bonhams auction at Quail Lodge led by 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione

It doesn't take too much knowledge of the classic car market to figure out that, when it comes to values, Ferrari leads the pack. Bonhams 2015 Quail Lodge Auction did absolutely nothing to buck that trend with four of the five top sellers bearing the Prancing Horse. While none came near the auction house's sale of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for $38.115 million last year, there were still beauties in the bunch. The leader among these thoroughbreds was a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione Alloy Berlinetta (pictured above) that went for $8.525 million, including the buyer's premium. It was one of just seven vehicles made to this specification and raced extensively when new, scoring a win in competition at Watkins Glen. A classic 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider brought $2.64 million, and a somewhat more modern 1985 288 GTO had the hammer drop at $2.365 million. The final Prancing Horse in the top five was a 1951 212 Inter Cabriolet with a body by Vignale for $2.2 million. It scored second-in-class at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Overturning the Ferrari trend, a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America rounded out the top five with a sale price of $1,952,500. While these are the most expensive vehicles to cross the block, you can check Bonhams' website for the results on all 111 lots. It's a wonderful array of largely European sports cars that are all in top shape.

Ferrari dominant at high-priced RM Auctions' Monterey event

Of the 21 multi-million-dollar lots sold over RM Auctions' two-day Monterey event, the top six were Ferraris while the top four were members of the vaunted 275 family. In total, 13 of the 21 seven- and eight-figure entries bore the yellow shield and prancing horse of the Scuderia.
Two cars in particular wowed bidders at the Monterey event - the exceptionally rare Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale and a 275 GTB/4 that was originally owned by Hollywood legend Steve McQueen.
The GTB/C Speciale was the first of a three-car run. Ferrari originally planned on campaigning the new range as a GT complement to its prototype entries at Le Mans, although squabbles with the FIA limited its racing career. Still, the extremely rare nature of this car means another example probably won't be coming up for auction for several years. Considering that, the GTB/C's selling price of $26.4 million does make a bit of sense.

Hennessey twin-turbo Ferrari 458 boasts 738 hp, 0-60 in 2.8 seconds

Hennessey Performance Engineering, hot off the heels of its Bugatti Veyron-crushing Venom GT, set its sights on modifying one of the finer Ferrari models. The resulting HPE700 Twin Turbo 458 is a badder, faster 458 Italia with a twin-turbo upgrade that adds 168 horsepower to the already potent 4.5-liter V8. That's 738 hp, which, paired with the extra 134 pound-feet of torque, for a total of 532 lb-ft, is good for a 2.8-second 0-60 run.
Low-inertia ball-bearing turbochargers are used to boost the power, and an air-to-water intercooler makes sure the air surging into the combustion chambers is as cool and dense as possible. Twin wastegates and blow-off valves relieve extra boost pressure and, in addition to a new stainless-steel exhaust system, add some new noises to the 458's soundtrack. The V8 is boosted to a relatively mild 7 psi maximum and maintains 6 psi on its way up to redline. A reflash of the engine control unit brings the package together. HPE is confident enough about its wares that the $59,995 upgrade also comes with a one-year/12,000-mile warranty.
The HPE700 Twin Turbo 458 is set to be unveiled on Friday at the Concorso Italiano located at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, which is part of California's Monterey Car Week festivities. It also can be viewed on Saturday in the paddock at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Monterey Historics Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion vintage car races. Check out the press release below for the full details, as well as a video of the Ferrari in action.