2011 Maserati Quattroporte S 12k Low Miles Nav Sunroof Rearcam Lthr One 1 Owner on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jay Kay's 1955 Maserati A6G/54 on the docket for Pebble Beach

Gooding & Company has revealed the highlights of its consignments for its Pebble Beach auction during the action-packed Monterey weekend. At the top of the list is the classic 1955 Maserati A6G/54 Frua Berlinetta currently owned by Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay. This Maserati, the show car from the 1955 Paris Auto Salon, features Frau coachwork, won Best in Show at the Salon Privé, and is expected to fetch between $1.5 and 2 million.
No less prestigious is the 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Stelvio convertible that belonged to Prince Louis Napoleon of France, grandson of Emperor Napoleon I and noted Bugatti collector of the time. Supercharged from the factory, the stunning two-tone droptop is projected to sell for $1.3 to 1.6 million.
Finally, an original 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra is on the docket, with pre-sale estimates at $750,000 - $950,000. See below for the full press release and watch this space as the classic car world gears up for Pebble Beach.

The Ferrari Enzo's designer isn't worried about the future of supercars

Ken Okuyama is a talented designer with a prestigious portfolio. He spent 12 years at the famed Italian design house Pininfarina after a stint with GM's Advanced Design Studio, where he worked on the C5 Corvette. He also styled the Boxster and 996-generation 911 at Porsche. His first Ferrari design was the Rossa concept car, though his most famous creation is the Enzo. Now Okuyama runs a design studio that not only is responsible for the new Kode57 supercar that debuted in Monterey this past weekend, but also eye glasses, civic planning, and even Japanese bullet trains. We caught up with Okuyama at the Concorso Italiano car show, plopped down on a couple of plush leather chairs right in front of his brand new Kode57, and chatted about what the future holds for car design. Alex Kierstein: Lately there's been a lot of talk about autonomy and future mobility. What sort of challenges and opportunities do you think this autonomous future is going to provide for you as a car designer? Ken Okuyama: It is a really fantastic time for designers because of two reasons. One is that the public and private transport have been two separate, completely different industries up until now. Now, when you think about the future of autonomy, that really brings the automobiles into something more of a public transportation. You really have to think about the total experience of the customers from buying the ticket to the paying mechanism. That's just hardware, actually. It is a huge challenge for engineers and designers, and I really love that. That's one reason. Another reason is that just like horses were a means of transport 100 or so years ago, up until Henry Ford mass-produced the Model T. Now, maybe sports cars are becoming like horses. Now, horses are a great object for hobby, sports, and part of the Olympics and everything. Cars are going to be like that also. Dr. Porsche [was asked what type of] automobile is going to last for the longest time. He said, "the sports car." I really believe in that, because with sports cars, you never lose a sense of ownership. Autonomous vehicles are things you don't have to own. You have to design a total experience and the whole operation. A car, you want to own it. It's part of you. Your mechanical watches, do you borrow them from somebody? You want to own it. Your suits, your favorite shirts, you want to borrow them from somebody for your experience? No, you want to own it. Ownership is a core part of human beings.

Maserati MC12 GT1 looks, sounds great storming VIR

Maserati has been celebrating its 100th anniversary all year, but recent visitors to Virginia International Raceway might have gotten to see one of the coolest highlights of the whole centenary. The brand took its already amazing MC12 GT1 racer and painted it up to commemorate its 100th birthday, dubbing the model Maserati MC12 GT1 Centenario. That would be neat enough, but the spectators at VIR actually got to watch and listen to this special edition racecar lap the track with its spectacular exhaust note singing a fantastic tune.
It's rather rare to see these beastly V12 racers on track in the US these days, but they were quite successful in FIA GT1 competition in Europe several years ago. The sound that they make perfectly matches those purposeful, low-slung looks. Switch this video into HD and turn up the speakers to experience a look at this fantastic racecar.