le mans – Pulpaddict

NASH-HEALEY: ANGLO-AMERICAN-ITALIAN SPORTS CAR

The 1951-1954 NASH-HEALEY: ANGLO-AMERICAN-ITALIAN SPORTS CAR beat the Corvette to the marketplace, but only lasted four model years.

When you think of historic Le Mans champions, you picture Porsches, Ferraris, Aston Martins, and Jaguars howling down the Mulsanne straight. But in 1952, a Nash Inline-Six-powered Nash-Healey lightweight racer bested all of those greats, earning a class win and third place overall behind the dominant Mercedes-Benz 300 Gullwing SLs. Over the years, the Inline-Six-cylinder Nash engine was available with dual and tri-power carburetion.

That year was the best showing of the Nash-Healey in four consecutive outings at Le Mans, but there’s no denying the marque’s place in sports car history. Today, the production-version Nash-Healey roadsters, below, and Le Mans coupes, above, styled by Pininfarina, are highly collectible and trade for between $40,000 on the low end to north of $100,000 depending on condition. Values for these low-production sports cars have held steady over the last decade, but interest remains strong for nice examples, judging from recent auction sales.

Despite a total production run of 506 cars, they seem to turn up for sale fairly often. Sarasota Cafe Racer Howard Mintz owns the red coupe, while the roadster is one of 104 first series, alloy-bodied Nash-Healey Le Mans Roadsters. Few survive today. Fewer still are as appealing as this one in Nicola Bulgari’s NB CENTER FOR AMERICAN AUTOMOTIVE HERITAGE in Allentown, PA.

For the full story on the NASH-HEALEY: ANGLO-AMERICAN-ITALIAN SPORTS CAR, please visit http://carguychronicles.com/nash-healey-first-american-sports-car/

Check out: Before the Corvette, Thunderbird, and Kaiser-Darrin came the Nash-Healey, and it was quite arguably the real sports car of the lot @ https://macsmotorcitygarage.com/1951-54-nash-healey/

2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR

Hagerty.com’s Eddy Eckart celebrates the 2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR and analyzes its marketplace appeal and strong fan base.

Creating a modern GT40 road car was every bit as ambitious as Henry Ford II’s desire for international motorsports domination. Both of these goals were attained – and were historically significant.

The GT40 was a key ingredient in the formula Henry Ford II used to dominate international motorsports and change racing history. Almost four decades later, Henry’s nephew, William Clay “Bill” Ford, Jr., found new life for the GT40. First, it was a Concept in 2002, and then it morphed into a modern road car in 2005. The production 2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR reinvigorated Ford’s historic hallmarks of success: passion, performance and speed.

When Chief Designer Camilo Pardo first took up his tools in 1999 to bring the 2002 Ford GT40 concept car to life, writes Eckart, the stakes were a little different than the last time the Blue Oval set about constructing an all-conquering GT40. There was no need to settle a grudge with Ferrari at Le Mans – that matter had been rather thoroughly closed a few decades prior. Instead, the concept would celebrate the brand’s centennial anniversary, and remind the world of what Ford could do when it put its collective mind to something. Today, the 2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR is roundly considered an American classic and a fitting road-going successor to the 1960s originals.

The celebration fortunately wouldn’t end with the concept. After the rousing response to the GT40 concept’s debut at the 2002 North American International Auto Show, Ford realized they had to build it. The car was a home run – every bit as imposing and purposeful as the originals, but also the modern halo car needed to help refresh the public’s image of the company. Within a matter of weeks, Bill Ford, Jr. announced that the company would indeed put the car into production.Of the many retro-inspired designs from the early 2000s, few have aged as well as the GT. It didn’t hurt that the original GT40 was an attractive starting point, but Pardo created a clear lineage to the original without making the GT feel dated or out of place, even when observed over 20 years after its debut. Proportions appear spot on, though dimensionally, this car is larger than its predecessor in just about every way – four inches taller, a significant 18 inches longer, and about six inches wider.

Continue reading 2005-2006 FORD GT: AMERICA’S SUPERCAR @ https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/hagerty-insider/ford-gt-market-spot/?hashed_email=a02fd73f06c2d5cc23217af748ce3d6f41526c251ab3e3c8a815e3f6b362bb1b&dtm_em=a02fd73f06c2d5cc23217af748ce3d6f41526c251ab3e3c8a815e3f6b362bb1b

JAGUAR C-TYPE & D-TYPE CONTINUATION CLASSICS

Laguna Seca and The Quail will showcase JAGUAR C-TYPE & D-TYPE CONTINUATION CLASSICS during Monterey Car Week!

Jaguar Classic is continuing its global tour of its authentic luxury collectibles, the C-type and D-type Continuations. The official classic division of JLR will be exhibiting at this year’s Monterey Car Week in California for the first time since 2018, at both The Quail, and in a debut for the brand, the Rolex Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. This comes after JAGUAR C-TYPE & D-TYPE CONTINUATION CLASSICS have been impressing clients and car fans alike, in the UAE, Japan, and Switzerland.

From Wednesday 16^th August, Jaguar Classic will have three vehicles on display at Laguna Seca for the Rolex Motorsports Reunion, two of which are the C-type and D-type Continuation projects. This annually held event sees approximately 550 classic race cars descend upon it and is the largest event during Car Week.

On Friday 18^th August, C-type and D-type Continuations will be presented at The Quail, an exquisite showcase of the finest automobiles in the world, where a 1956 Jaguar D-type was named Best of Show in 2022.Jaguar Classic will showcase the craft, skill, and passion that goes into each of these luxury limited editions. Each Continuation takes over 3,000 to build by hand, by experts at JLR Classic’s Coventry based Works facility in the UK. They are new versions of some of the most iconic and pioneering racing cars engineered to exacting standards to ensure authenticity.

Paul Barritt, Director, Jaguar Classic, said: “We are immensely proud of the work everyone at Jaguar Classic Works have put – and continue to put – into these exquisite Continuation vehicles. They are true masterpieces with exceptional stories behind them. It is very special to bring these stories of Jaguar’s incredible heritage to life through the work of passionate and talented individuals, and to be able to share them with the world at events like Monterey Car Week.”

Revealed in 2021, the Jaguar C-type Continuation is a strictly limited run of vehicles built to celebrate the iconic C-type’s trailblazing heritage, and its numerous landmark victories. Each example can be specified in one of 12 heritage exterior colours and eight interior colours and is powered by a 3.4-litre straight-six engine producing 220 horsepower. Jaguar Classic will build no more than sixteen examples.Built to the 1953 Le Mans-winning works team car specification, the C-type Continuations have been painstakingly researched and developed using an advanced combination of modern technology and archived Jaguar materials. It is the first Jaguar Classic vehicle to be reproduced fully utilising 3D CAD, using modern JLR facilities, feeding in original period source data for absolute authenticity.The D-type Continuation restarted production of the iconic D-type racing car 64 years after the first examples were racing in 1954. Originally, in the 1950s, a run of 100 D-types was supposed to be built, but only 75 were completed. Restarting production after more than 60 years, Jaguar Classic is finishing the production run with 25 exclusive vehicles, meticulously crafted to an authentic, period-correct specification.

Jaguar Classic’s unique access to original engineering drawings and records ensures the experts at the Classic Works in Coventry accurately reproduce each vehicle. Clients can choose either 1955-specification Shortnose or 1956-spec Longnose bodywork.

For more information about JAGUAR C-TYPE & D-TYPE CONTINUATION CLASSICS, please visit http://www.jaguar.com/classic

FORD GT40 VALUE GUIDE.

Hagerty Magazine’s Conner Golden compares Ford’s Le Mans winners with Ferraris they beat in this FORD GT40 VALUE GUIDE.

When three Ford GT40 Mark IIs crossed the finish line 1-2-3 in the rain at Le Mans in 1966, it was the first of four consecutive Ford wins at the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe. Beating Ferrari at Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans elevated the Ford brand in international endurance racing, yet today’s prices of those iconic racecars have not kept pace with also-iconic Ferrari models that they beat! The Mark I and Mark III, left, Road variants, as well as the unique Mark IV, above, that won Le Mans and Sebring in 1967 are included in this comprehensive FORD GT40 VALUE GUIDE.

Rivet for rivet, I’m not sure you can find a car that matches the Ford GT40’s raw collectability. Ford’s mid-engine wunderkind exists at the intersection of historical importance, motorsport legend, iconic personalities, exemplary engineering, and pure desirability. Not every Ferrari race car is important, but I reckon every GT40 built is noteworthy by its existence alone.

Archie Urciouli in GT40 Mark I P/1083, leads a Mark IV down the “corkscrew” at Laguna Seca.

Despite that, many Ferraris of similar or lesser provenance trade for millions more. Could it be that the GT40 is undervalued? Yes, we know there are plenty of zeros involved in the going rate of a finished GT40. It’s not an everyman car, but it is a storybook car, maybe the storybook car in America’s sports car history. That alone is reason enough to seek a better understanding of the GT40’s place into the collector market.

GT40 Mark IIB, P/1016 photographed at NY Auto Show by Phil Roitman

If we’re looking at raw numbers, despite all that appeal, it’s usually only a cluster of GT40s with heavy competition history that break the $10 million mark. The rest of the cars – regardless of generation – trade beneath the eight-figure waterline (the “average” GT40 transacts for just under $6 million), presenting a relative bargain compared to some of the superstars from Europe.

Indeed, values of the GT40’s Ferrari contemporaries – 250 LM – and the 330/412 P family—have lapped the Ford more than three times over. The 250 LM has traded in rare air for a long time: public sales dating back to the early-to-mid 2010s saw values as low as $10 million and as high as $17 million. According to Hagerty valuation data, in today’s climate, $17 million fetches a rough 250 LM, while the cleanest attract an average of $24 million!

Continue reading FORD GT40 VALUE GUIDE @ https://www.hagerty.com/media/market-trends/putting-a-value-on-the-ford-gt40/?utm_source=SFMC&utm_medium=email&utm_content=MED_UN_NA_EML_UN_DailyDriver_Tuesday&hashed_email=e323c71347790f699ba35a9dc01d49ac3f938885a7df6321087c8c9b4c0dd333

CADILLAC V-SERIES: RACETRACK TO THE ROAD

Year-long celebration commemorating 20 years of CADILLAC V-SERIES: RACETRACK TO THE ROAD kicks off at Sebring where it all started in 2004.

As three Cadillac V-Series.R hybrid race cars prepare to start the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship races at Sebring this weekend, Cadillac is also kicking off a year-long celebration for its V-Series performance sub-brand, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024.

The Cadillac V-Series performance sub-brand was launched at Sebring International Raceway in March 2004 with the race debut and subsequent first win of the CTS-V.R racecar in the SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT race. This forged a transformative legacy at Cadillac, driven by a symbiotic relationship between the brand’s championship-winning motorsports program and the road vehicles it influenced.

“Nearly 20 years ago, Cadillac made a bold move with V-Series that continues to resonate,” said Global Vice President of Cadillac Rory Harvey. “From the racetrack to the road, V-Series has transformed Cadillac and helped redefine performance luxury for thousands of enthusiasts. Over the next 12 months we will celebrate V-Series with a number of significant moments.”

The 20th year of V-Series is also a big one for Cadillac Racing, which has expanded with the all-new, electrified Cadillac V-Series.R prototype racecar competing internationally in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. The V-Series.R represents the start of the fifth generation of CADILLAC V-SERIES: RACETRACK TO THE ROAD

In addition, Cadillac will return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June for the first time in more than 20 years, competing with three cars for the overall win in the historic endurance race.

The inaugural production V-Series – the 2004 CTS-V – was developed on the racetrack and previewed on Germany’s famed Nürburgring circuit. It was the first of 13 V-Series sedan, coupe, roadster and SUV models to follow. All V-Series vehicles benefit from the performance technologies and learnings from nearly 20 years of winning on the racetrack.

“Our championship-winning race team brings an uncompromising eye for detail that is channeled into every production model,” said Brandon Vivian, executive chief engineer, Cadillac. “The result are vehicles that weave power, craftsmanship and innovative technologies into engaging, involving driving experiences.”Today’s lineup includes the CT4-V and twin-turbocharged CT4-V Blackwing, the CT5-V and the supercharged CT5-V Blackwing, and the supercharged Escalade-V. With 682 horsepower (508 kW), the Escalade-V currently wears the crown of Cadillac’s most-powerful production model ever, while the CT4-V and CT5-V Blackwing models offer the ultimate balance of road-going performance luxury and track capability.

20 Years of CADILLAC V-SERIES: RACETRACK TO THE ROAD Production:

First Generation – 2004

CTS-V
XLR-V
STS-V

Second Generation – 2009

CTS-V
CTS-V Wagon and Coupe

Third Generation – 2016

CTS-V
ATS-V

Fourth Generation – 2019

CT6-V
CT4-V
CT5-V
CT4-V Blackwing
CT5-V Blackwing
Escalade-V

The 20th anniversary celebration will conclude at Sebring in March 2024 – 20 years after the first CTS-V won on the track. More information about the anniversary will be shared on Cadillac’s website and V-Series Instagram account throughout the year. New products and features commemorating the 20th anniversary of V-Series are planned over the next 12 months, with more information to be announced throughout this period.

For more information about the latest luxury and performance vehicles from Cadillac, please visit https://media.cadillac.com/media/us/en/cadillac/vehicles.html