1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta ‘Competizione’ makes €9,856,000

It’s the annual  Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este festival of supercars and classic cars this weekend, and poart of that is the RM Auctions sale at Vella Erba, on the banks of Lake Como, with a 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM Pinin Farina Berlinetta ‘Competizione’ smashing the world auction record by fetching €9,865,000. The 375 MM is one of three works cars entered in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans and has a good history including 24 Hour of Spa, the Carrera Panamericana, and winning the 12 Hours of Pescara, has been driven by World Champions Hawthorn, Ascari, and Farina and won numerous awards at many events including Pebble Beach, Goodwood Revival and the Louis Vuitton Classic. But it wasn’t just the 375 MM that sold at a strong price, with other notable lots fetching good prices, such as a 1965 Ferrari 275 GTB, for €1,120,000,  a 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400 at €426,600, a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Roadster for €1,114,400 and a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Coupé Aerodinamico for €2,184,000.

McLaren MSO 650S going in to production – debuts at Goodwood & costs from £252,500

The McLaren MSO 650S Concept (pictured) becomes a production model In April, we revealed the McLaren MSO 650S Coupe Concept, and such has been the reaction from McLaren buyers that McLaren has decided to put it in to production, with a total of 50 cars being built in both Coupe and Spider guise and debuting this week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The production MSO 650S carries over many of the elements of the Concept, but McLaren’s Design Director, Frank Stephenson, has had input to make more changes including a number of carbon fibre styling upgrades with a satin finish, a three-piece rear bumper with carbon fibre centre section and a more aggressive rear diffuser. The MSO Concept came in Agrigan Black, but the production version will be available in ‘Papaya Spark (a take on McLaren orange), Sarigan Quartz ( new metallic silver with gold infusion) and the Agrigan Black of the concept.

Alfa Romeo US relaunch delayed

Alfa Romeo Giulietta - American launch delayed until 2013 It’s getting on for two years since we reported that Alfa Romeo were going to relaunch themselves in the US after an absence of twenty years, to give Americans an Italian alternative to the likes of Audi, BMW and  Mercedes. A quality European alternative with Italian flair was the logic. But within a month of the announcement that the US was to be beguiled by Alfas once more came the news that the MiTo wouldn’t be going on the American sojourn.