The list of Motoring Legends is always being added to, we’ve already listed some of the greatest F1 drivers such as Ayrton Senna, Stirling Moss, Graham Hill, Juan Manuel Fangio, Gilles Villeneuve and John Surtees to name a few. The people behind the cars have also found a place on our board; from heroes of the past including Enzo Ferrari, Caroll Shelby, Ferrucio Lamborghini to the present day motoring masterminds including Horacio Pagani.

Our Pinterest board gives us a chance to reminisce and reflect upon the great people who’ve contributed and inspired our passion for cars – feel free to send us a tweet or comment suggesting some more motoring legends to feature on our board!

What exactly is Pinterest?

Pinterest is an online tool for organising and sharing absolutely anything, it works like a virtual pin board for sharing your interests by adding photos, videos and links from the web. Pins can then be shared on all sorts of social media, if you follow our twitter page you’d have noticed a few of our pins. To started building up some boards and sharing your interests on Pinterest click here to get started.

The Pin It Forward UK campaign has been featuring an array of bloggers from Blighty, check out the full list by clicking the button or read about how Pinterest is used by another another featured blogger Scarlett De Courcier and their Pinterest profile here.  

It was the advent of the coachbuilt homage to the Jaguar E-type, the Lyonheart K, that got us thinking about wire wheels again. The Lyonheart K is far from a 50 year old classic, it uses LED lightclusters and under the bonnet lies a 575bhp Cosworth-developed 5.0 litre supercharged V8! Ultimately, the Lyonheart blends the swinging sixties styling with the performance of you modern day Jaguar XKR, a perfect match wethink. The only thing setting us back from buying one right now is the limited run of just 250 cars and the price…… a staggering €360,000 (£306,000-ish) for the coupé and €375,00 (£318,000-ish) for the convertible, that’s without local taxes by the way. That’s a lot of money to get your hands on some retro styling! The cheaper option we’ve got in mind would involve the simple task of changing your alloys to add a bit of classic elegance.

We decided to head to the internet and check out if there’s a wire wheel market out there, and lo and behold we stumbled upon the original godfathers of wire wheels from Milan, Ruote Borrani. Apparently they still hand-craft their entire back catalogue of chrome wheels for classic car and bike owners across the world. Classics sporting a set of authentic wire wheel certainly add to their overall value, but for the modern vehicle owner Borrani also offer an exciting alternative….

Chrome-tastic

A few thousand pounds of chromed-goodness could transform an Aston Martin Vantage into even more of an icon by sporting the same wheels as the iconic DB5.  This conjures up all sorts of sinful thoughts, and thankfully Borrani’s simple photoshopped configurator images allow you to clearly see the immenseness the effect of wire wheels.

Why spend a fortune on a DB5?

Wire wheels aren’t just for supercars….

Their catalogue spans most manufacturers and they even kit out the smaller car market too with sets of 16″ wheels and upwards for the Mini, Fiat 500 and Audi A1 for added retro appeal. We’ve picked a few cars that sport wire wheels a bit better than your retro-tastic superminis. Borrani’s X-Ray wheels each have 64 spokes all hand crafted for perfect balance and they offer wheel finishes with silver, chromed or black spokes.

Shopping list: 1 x Maserati 4 x black spoked wire wheels

Adding a set of wired-spokes under the right car most certainly adds a certain je ne sais quoi about it. You can check out the rest of the Borrani collection on their website.

Photos: Ruote Borrani

Sir Jackie Stewart’s race-winning motors were on show

RB’s WRC-winning Scooby

They were joined by British former Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert and 24 Hours of Le Mans winners Derek Bell, Emanuele Pirro and Allan McNish. Di Resta and Herbert opened the show, which featured some of the sport’s most impressive machinery, including all of the 2012 race winners on the F1 Racing display and a collection of cars from Sir Jackie Stewart’s life in motorsport. Attendees also enjoyed a tribute to Britain’s late World Rally Champion Richard Burns and a dedicated Dunlop MSA British Touring Car feature, including autograph sessions with champions Shedden, Matt Neal and Jason Plato.

Mercedes-Benz AMG F1W03 on teh F1 Racing grid

We were able to get behind the scenes of the Live Action Arena and experience the action literally 2 feet away from the track with bits of rubber spraying onto the camera lens and the thunder of a monster-truck’s engine hurtling towards one’s face! The interviewed F1 stars certainly put on a great show, with the likes of Sir Jackie Stewart sharing his views on F1 safety, to his predictions for next year’s F1 world champion. Sadly Ant Davidson was keeping it zipped on the Mercedes AMG F1 contender for next year, which he’s been developing at their Brackley base. There was also some spectacular stunt displays as well as a parade of The Best of British cars featuring the some cars hot off the production line including the new Range Rover, Lotus Exige S, McLaren 12C Spider and the Bentley Continental GTC.

McLaren 12C Spider strutting its stuff

2013 Range Rover looking flashy

Rear of the year for 2013 – Ferrari’s F12berlinetta

The Pistonehads Performance Car Show area exhibited some real rarities with custom tuned Lamborghini Aventadors, the UK premiere of the Ferrari F1 Berlinetta, the latest Porsche 911 Carerra 4S, Noble’s M600 finished in carbon fibre and the worldwide launch of the track-ready Lotus Exige V6 Cup and V6 Cup R models. Bentley also chose Autosport International to debut their return to the motorsport scene with their Continental GT3 racer.

Bentley Continental GT3 in British Racing Pearl

Coys had a collection classics up for auction, the star lot being a 1974 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost owned by Freddie Mercury which sold for an astonishing £74,000, despite an estimate of just £9,000 to £11,000!

The car even features a box of unused Kleenex Mansize Tissues, which have been in the car since being in his possession…

The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot the 61-plate

Rally fans were treated to the launch of  M-Sport’s 2013 WRC contender, the Qatar M-Sport Fiesta WRC is what would have been the Ford Factory team until they pulled the plug on their official WRC-ties a few months back. Radical were another motorsport-outfit to launch their first roofed vehicle – the RXC. On the less-British roadcar front was a surprising appearance from the Volkswagen Golf Mk VII on the Blistein shocks trade stand, an unofficial UK launch for the German hatch which was tucked away in amongst the handsfreekits and fuel additives.

Radical in name and styling

Das nieu Golf

All-in all Europe’s biggest motorsport driven show was a great success  giving British motorsport fans their petrol-fix until the F1 returns to Silverstone this summer. You can view our full gallery over on our facebook page by clicking here.

The 156 GTA Sportwagon – getting envious looks on the schoo lrun since 2001

The revival of the GTA roadcars just over ten years ago involved a mild bit of madness on Alfa’s part by ramming a 3.2 litre V6 engine into their family saloon and hatchback models in the form of the 156 and 147 GTA. The resulting monsters did like the small but significant matter of handling, due to that immensely heavy engine hanging over the front end like the  beer-belly of their middle-aged owners, despite Alfa’s best efforts of combining the lowered suspension, wider tyres and bright red brembo sports brakes.  It was certainly attention-grabbing, and a two-fingered statement to any hot hatch rivals in traffic-light confrontations. Sadly the GTA revival wasn’t a big seller for the brand, they were over-priced, and front-wheel drive was certainly not the best idea for all that power. Amongst the Alfisti however, the GTAs were like gold dust, there’d be crowds gathering around them at Italian car meets and even those unable to afford a GTA still appreciated the sprinkle of sportiness featured in their bog-standard 1.6 or 2.0 litre 156 models.

The heart and soul of an Alfa Romeo

The two lonely Alfa Romeos

In recent years there’s been a sad realisation that the brand has become somewhat watered down. At the moment their showrooms sell just two cars – the Giuletta and MiTo hatchbacks, these are provided with luxury-orientated interiors and mildly sportier engines than their Fiat counterparts. It’s about time Alfa Romeo get a new working-man’s hero. The 8C Competizione was the brand’s supercar in recent years, from a design perspective it’s the motoring equivalent of the Mona Lisa, in fact it’s worth the investment to park it in an art gallery for a few hundred years. Having drop-dead gorgeous design is one of Alfa Romeo’s characteristics that still features in their current hatchback lineup, in fact the MiTo is “inspired” by the 8C’s looks but underneath it’s very much a Fiat Grande Punto. The more recent Giulietta is the only car that truly contrasts the minimalist design approach from the German-led hatchback market. The range-topping Giuletta 1750 TBI Cloverleaf is Alfa’s answer to the Golf GTi, but for those power-hungry hardcore hatches it’s the VAG Group that is making all the noise with the likes of the VW Golf R, Audi RS3, Seat Leon Cupra R and let’s not forget the awesome Audi A1 quattro.

Perfection

235bhp of Italian spicy turbopower

The Giulietta Cloverleaf is a fine car and not far off the power figures of the 147 GTA, but we’re asking for a range topping beast. Alfa needs something of a revival, it needs a car to get its brand and standard road cars noticed once more, even if it’s just a limited run for the wealthy petrolheads. We’re not asking for a multi-million rally or touring car effort, just a bit of engine tweakage on the Giulietta to around 300 bhp and some serious bonnet vents should do the trick. The MiTo was due to have a GTA model, with a concept launched back in 2009 but due to the credit crunch and a subsequent reorganisation of the Fiat Group, development was postponed almost indefinitely.

What could have been

All may not be lost for the Alfisti in the near future however, the 4C mid-engined rear wheel drive coupé is currently in development with the production car expected in 2 years time. It was originally going to feature a racing-derived carbon fibre chassis, but that got scrapped for a cheaper aluminium alternative, we hope these development cutbacks won’t compromise the final product. The 4C’s styling divides opinion with larger than life headlights and gaping front grille, but the idea of Alfa Romeos returning to rear wheel drive is exciting enough to keep our fingers crossed until then. The second bit of hope lies in the hands of Mazda who are co-developing the next MX-5 and Alfa Spider, it’s expected to use Mazda’s formidable experience of lightweight front-engined rear wheel drive set-ups with Fiat’s package of small turbocharged engines. We can all but hope these two models turn things around for Alfa, and there’s a chance that the 4C at least will get some GTA treatment, only time will tell.

Alfa Romeo 4C Concept

10. Spa 1995 - Michael has been quoted as Spa being one of his favourite tracks, where in the 1995 Grand Prix he held off Damon Hill in a battle for first place despite remaining on dry tyres in the wet. Performances like this gave him the the nickname – rainmeister (action kicks off at around 3 mins in).

9. Monaco 1996 – Pole Position Qualifying Lap - An astounding performance around one of the most iconic circuits in F1, Schumacher took over half a second off Damon Hill’s best time..

8. That infamous shunt with Hill – 1994 Australian Grand Prix - A moment he may not want to be remembered for in the eyes of his critics, but this crash with Hill ultimately won Michael the 1995 F1 World Championship title.

7.  Winning from the pitlane – Silverstone 1998 - A classic tactical move by Ferrari riddled with controversy, Michael was given a a stop-and-go penalty and the team chose to serve it on the last lap of the race. Apparently the finish line technically stretches out into the pitlane, which meant Schumacher was still able to win. The penalty was later withdrawn by the FIA despite strong protests from McLaren.

6. Driving with a broken gearbox: Spanish GP 1994 - Most drivers would give up on a race nowadays if they encountered gearbox issues – but Schumacher nursed the car for around 40 laps with the gearbox stuck in 5th and still managed a respectable 2nd place finish.

5. Overtaking Senna on the grass – Spa 1993 Back when Schumacher was just an F1 youngling he was proving his talent by having the cojones to make moves on the late great Ayrton Senna.

4. Monza 1998 - A combination of luck and a hearty overtake move on Hakkinen sealed the lead and eventually the win for Schumacher in Italy, a time and place when the fans went absolutely nuts for the man. If you listen carefully they’re nearly as loud as the engines on the video….

3. Monaco 2012 Unofficial Pole Position - The old master proved he still had that bit of driving magic on the streets of Monte Carlo in him by setting the fastest time in Q3, sadly a penalty meant he was stripped of the officially grid slot.

2. On the podium in Valencia, European Grand Prix 2012 – Schumacher’s best result since his comeback for Mercedes and it marked his record 155th podium finish. Third place may have once been a disappointing result back in his prime, but it took two and a bit seasons of disappointing performances and retirements to get there.

1. World Champion with the most races to go: 2002 - Just one of a long list of records, 2002 saw Schumacher win the F1 Drivers’ World Championship after just 11 races, leaving 6 races remaining! By the end of the season he was 67 points ahead (in old F1 money) and had finished on the podium in every single race, another record for the history books. Schumacher’s achievements in F1 have rated him amongst the F1 heroes of old such as Ayrton Senna, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari and Jim Clark.

Let us know your favourite (or worst) memories from Michael Schumacher’s F1 career by tweeting us @Motorious

As well as the motoring newcomers,  Salon Privé’s main event celebrates the best of the historics in the Concours D’Elégance. Vehicles were hand picked to match this year’s themed Classes, which celebrated 25 years of the Ferrari F40, 60 years of the Mercedes 300SL Gullwings, pre-war rarities, open and closed sports cars from the Sixties, Vee-Twin and important competition motorbikes, shooting brakes, the works of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, and vintage Bugattis. The judges responsible for selecting the class winners and the overall Concours winner included experts from the world of motoring journalism, the motor industry, Aston Martin boss Dr Ulrich Bez, Le Mans legend Derek Bell and the esteemed car designers; Ian Callum, David Woodhouse, Peter Stevens, Frank Stephenson and Mark Reichman.

Class A’s fantastic collection of Ferrari F40′s were enough to leave even the expert petrolheads starstruck, these Italian supercars may only be just reaching the 25 year old milestone, but their reputation as an ultimate driver’s car and the exclusivity of Ferrari ownership already gives them classic status. We were lucky enough to quiz an F40 owner on the history of his F40, which is one of only 3 UK-based cars that still belong to their original owners. His 22 year old example was one of the first 400 produced, without the adjustable suspension making tackling speed bumps fairly interesting. The more extreme owners specified slide open windows to save weight, the cars even left the factory without carpets for the stripped out effect. One F40 had been rebelliously painted blue, which goes against the traditionalist view of ensuring they remain un-fettled and in their original condition, but it most certainly stood out from the line of red Ferraris.

1924 Alfa Romeo RLSS Spyder Gran Premio

The Pre-War Rarities Class had an eclectic mix of known and unknown marques, such as Rolls Royce, Invicata, Aston Martin, Jaguar and Alfa Romeo. A very special 1923 Daimler “Royal Four” Limousine built for King George V was also one of the pre-war vehicles, it is the only known example in private hands.

Fit for a King

Pub fact: the colour is Verde Ithaca

The creative freedom that came about in the swinging Sixties was also reflected in some of the most remarkable cars produced at the time, which is why the Concours set about dedicating two entrant categories for open-topped and closed sports. Lets just drop a few names to get your knees trembling: Ferrari Dino 246, Jaguar E-Type Roadster, the “Eleanor” Shelby Mustang GT500, Maserati 3500 GT Spyder Lamborghini Miura, Porsche 356, Alfa Romeo Giulia SS,  Ferrari 275 Spyder, Shelby Cobra, Aston Martin DB6 Volante, Chevrolet Corvette C2 and the ex-James Coburn Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spyder. The last model being particularly special because it’s worth over £5.5 million pounds – a price Chris Evans paid for it in 2008, the car itself is the definition of a Concours winner, it’s part of Hollywood royalty, bought second-hand by James Coburn after filming The Great Escape and looks as goood as the day it left the Scaglietti production line.

The Shelby Cobra’s punchy engine

A car that looks a fair bit more than a million dollars

The shooting brake car was also part of the judging classes this year, the stretched boot concept was originally built to accommodate the guns and dogs for a gentlemen’s day out shooting. Two cars presented by private customers of Italian coachbuilders Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera   included the Bentley Continental Flying Spur and the Maserati Bellagio.

Pop star Jay Kay bought along his 1967 Ferrari 330 GT by Vignale, the last work by Alfred Vignale before his death, the Ferrari shooting brake is clearly something out of the ordinary with its lights hidden behind the chrome grillwork and a yellow roofline which contrasts the dark green bodywork.

2012 marked 60 years of the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, Salon Privé gathered 10 examples of the legendary car. The chrome bezeled headlamps glistened in the sunlight on the lawns of Syon Park and some examples had their Gullwing doors up revealing the luxury leather interiors and wooden steering wheel to all the guests.

It wouldn’t be a Concours D’Elégance without a Bugatti or two, thankfully the good chaps organising Salon Privé managed to get hold of 9 vintage racers each with a story to tell – from Grand Prix entrants to Ettore Bugatti’s very own Le Mans entrant.

A 1925 French GP entrant Type 35

The Bugatti Type 59/50B III’s engine on show

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera featured heavily with the Design Class in the Concours dedicated to the coachbuilder. The 1950 Ferrari 166M Barchetta won the overall Best of Show award and has competed in over 8 Mille Miglia in total. It was built to compete in the 1950 Targa Florio. Other works by Touring included the Alfa Romeo 6c 2500 Villa d’Este – one of 10 models built  to commemorate Alfa Romeo’s success in the Italian Concours d’Elégance.

Mamma Mia!

In the Luxury and Supercar show area Touring had some of their most recent concepts on display, including the the Disco Volante 2012 – a jaw-dropping tribute to the 1952 Alfa Romeo launched at this year’s Geneva motor show. The car on show was strictly a concept, but Touring are happy to convert any Alfa Romeo 8C for an undisclosed price. The Gumpert Tornante concept was also on Touring’s stand along with the Maserati A8GCS Berlinetta Concept.

The ROFGO Gulf Collection was brought to Salon Privé by historic competition car brokerage Duncan Hamilton & Co, the collection features everything from Le Mans racers, F1 cars and even a transporter truck in the famous blue and orange paintwork.

Lola Aston Martin LMP1

Aston Martin was one of the main marques at the Luxury and Supercar show choosing Salon Privé to launch their V12 Vantage Roadster and also presented the new Vanquish to prospective customers. The car has tasteful matching interior colours, inner wheel rim paint and bonnet vents, demonstrating Aston Martin’s attention to detail and bespoke touch to the manufacturing process.

Gotta love those bonnet vents

Tushek’s Supercars hail from Slovenia, presenting their first model the Renovatio T500 in the UK. The car makes use of carbon fibre and motorsport derived technology, its mid-engined set up is for favourable weight distribution.

Another newcomer to the supercar scene is Rimac Automobili, who presented their Concept_One, the Croatian supercar is unique in its electric drivetrain which produces over 1000 bhp. The interesting concept will soon be a reality for some lucky customers, and the success of the project could pave the way for meaner greener supercars of the future.

Electrifying performance

Something innovative from the great fields of Norfolk is the the latest model from Trident Sports Cars, their new Iceni model features something unheard of in the sports car market – a diesel engine! Underneath the British classic sportscar-inspired bodywork is a 6.6 litre turbodiesel engine that produces 430 bhp combined with their own Torque Multiplication system to ensure the performance makes the most of all the engine’s power. The astounding figures are the mpg – at 70mph the engine can achieve 68mpg and a tank of diesel has a range of 2000 miles.

Sadly after all the lovely Pommery Champagne, lobster lunch, and afternoon tea, we had to leave the magnificent grounds of Syon Park and all the spectacular cars behind. To take a look back at more pictures from this year’s show check out our photogallery on facebook.

The switch to turbocharged power for the Cavallino comes at a time when stricter emissions targets and government taxes threaten the supercar industry as we know it. The new V8 engine is expected to be revealed next year, the move to turbocharged engines may be due to legislation ensuring cars comply with the new Euro VI emissions standards that will be launched from 2014. Many sportscar manufacturers have decided to downsize engine capacities or develop hybrid drivetrains, Ferrari’s HY-KERs hybrid system, regenerates energy lost under braking conditions and has been developed from the system used on its F1 cars. The hybrid system was demonstrated on the Ferrari 599 HY-KERS concept, and will hopefully secure future of its V12 flagship models, such as the eagerly-awaited successor to the Enzo, without the need to significantly downsize in cylinders.

The new twin-turbo V8 will most likely appear in the replacement for the Ferrari California and a Maserati counterpart such as a new GranSport. We’d love a mad engineer at Maranello to revive the spirit of the 288 GTO and bolt some turbos onto the 458 Italia’s block, which is already most powerful naturally aspirated engine in the world, although we  fear the resulting power from those rear wheels would probably cause a disturbance in the time-space continuum.

Another rumour from our source in Italy is the Ferrari-developed twin-turbo V6 unit. This could spark the possibility that there could be a baby Ferrari on the way, the classic Dino 246 is now as collectable as any V12 Ferrari from the Sixties, so why not make a modern interpretation? The more plausable option is for its use in a Maserati, with their product line-up due to expand to the SUV market with the Kubang and the replacement for the Quattroporte due very soon.

The first Art Car came about in 1975 when French racing driver Hervé Poulain invited Alexander Calder to design the livery for his BMW 3.0 CSL he would race in the 24 hours of Le Mans. The resulting marriage of art and motoring spawned 16 other Art Cars over the past 37 years.

Art Car number 2 was designed by Frank Stella, the 1976 3.0 CSL combines strict black lines with some abstract curves to convey the look of a technical drawing on graph paper.

Suddenly physics and maths got a lot more exciting

In 1977 Pop Art maestro, Roy Lichtenstein was commissioned to liven up the 320 Group 5 racer. His work depicts a sunrise over a countryside landscape when viewed from the side with the lines creating a flowing image from front to rear, complementing the car’s aerodynamic features.

The fourth Art Car is the stuff of legend – featuring the ultimate BMW sportscar, the M1, and the artist who helped shaped the 20th century; Andy Warhol. After some design rejections, Warhol asked to be flown out to Munich to paint the car himself. The bold colours were applied to the car using Warhol’s own fingertips and brushstrokes – he completed the car in just 28 minutes!

The Mona Lisa of race cars

The texture of the paint and the grooves and smudges caused by his hands are a defining part of the car. The rarity of a racing M1 makes the car worth a small fortune alone, the addition of Warhol’s personal touch and passion expressed on its bodywork means you could part exchange it for a debt-ridden country.

Austrian hot-rodding

The “Fire Fox” BMW 635 CSi, is not a racing car like its predecessors, the 1982 model was  a fully fledged production BMW. It was also the first Art Car to be designed by a European artist, the Austrian, Ernst Fuchs. The dramatic flame motif spreads the length of the car giving the perception of speed and agility.

Another 635 CSi forms the canvas for the sixth Art Car. The car was crane-lifted into artist, Robert Rauschberg’s studio, where the floor had to be reinforced while he worked on the car. The artwork is a mixture of photographic images and paint which was applied to the car using foil-wrapping.  The doors feature image reproductions of old masterpieces, with the car acting as a “museum-on-wheels”.

BMW went down-under in 1989 with two identical 300bhp Group A M3s, allowing two different interpretations of Art Car from artists of different cultures and artistic styles: the Aboriginal artist Michael Jagamara Nelson and  the Sydney-based artist/designer Ken Done. Both cars take inspiration from the diverse wildlife and nature found in Australia – with Nelson’s traditional patterns and swirls and Done’s vivid colours that are drawn from the native parrots and parrot-fish.

Ice cool

Art Car number 9 is road-going 535i, this time featuring artwork from Asia, with one of the most respected Japanese artists, Matazo Kayama. This car appears very modern, but makes use of Kayama’s traditional styles, snowflakes cover the car with an airbrushed river splitting it to create a fantasy landscape with glistening areas  of gold  and silver, which were created using the Japanese foil printing “Arare” and “Kirigane” metal cutting techniques.

A second Art Car was created in 1990 by Spanish designer, painter, sculptor and architect – César Manrique. His work transformed the 730i into an abstract  interpretation of movement and speed.

The BMW Z1 was an out of the ordinary roadster from BMW when it was launched, the bodypanels were made of plastic composites and the doors slid down into the chassis when opened. BMW’s invited German artist A.R. Penck to work on their go-go gadget roadster, the result was a cryptic cave-drawing using his “Stand-Art” themes creating a symbolic ancient pattern on the modern shell of the Z1.

Mesmerising patternwork

Art Car number 12 takes the audience to yet another continent, featuring South African artist Ester Mahlangu and the art of her Ndebele tribe. As with many of the cars the artwork contrasts the shape of the car, the 525i’s lines and bodywork seem hidden as the mix of colours and bold patterns on the panels draw the audience in.

1992 saw Italian artist Sandrio Chia approach BMW to make his mark on the Art Car collection. BMW sent him a brand new 3 Series Touring Car Prototype to work on. The car is covered with layers of faces gazing back at the viewers, it was meant to reflect the gazes of the many people who stare and lust over BMWs parked on the roadside.

David Hockney’s BMW 850 CSi  jumbles the inside of the car with outside landscape – it features part of the V12 engine on the bonnet, a vast green landscape, tyre treads and even a dock sitting up on the back seat.

“TECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT”

The 15th Art Car returned to the racing scene with the V12 LMR , its 6-litre V12 engine  produces 580 bhp, making this the most powerful and fastest Art Car in the collection. Jenny Holzer designed the racing livery for the Le Mans 24 hour race contender, her minimalist style using the car as a vehicle for her thoughts.

Ka-Boom!

The final Art Car on tour is the M3 GT2 by Jeff Koons, the multi-coloured approache is a homage to Art Cars of old with a Pop Art explosion as the lines meet at the rear of the car as well as the car racing in Le Mans under the number “79″ paying tribute to Warhol’s M1. Koons’ M3 is exciting from all angles, and is possibly our favourite of the modern Art Cars. The lines give the car a sense of movement, despite being parked up and surrounded by art and car fanatics alike.

The BMW Art Drive! runs until the 4th August – for information on opening times head to the ICA website. If you can’t get to the exhibition and you own a clapped out BMW – why not DIY your own Art Car and send us the pics? Or just click through our facebook photo album for more pictures…

The brutish and innovative design of the car gives it hot-rodding appeal with a 21st century twist; side-exitting exhausts, with a large air intake on the bonnet are also featured with semi-exposed front wheels and front-wing vanes like you’d find on a Formula One car. The use of a novel braking system developed by IFR Automotive for the GT-21 gives performance on par with carbon-carbon brakes by dissipating heat effectively to reduce the incidence of brake fade. The chassis weighs just 90 kg – which in laymans terms is about the weight of a podgy passenger or a St Bernard dog. We could soon see this ultra-lightweight technology in standard passenger cars as manufacturers bid to improve overall efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.

It seats 4 with a 2+2 layout, and the driver is treated to a multimedia system linked with steering wheel-mounted controls and a driver display. The dimensions are similar to other premium GT cars at 4.447mm long, 1,883mm wide and 1,226mm in height. Performance figures prove the car is capable of rivalling even the most premium supercar makers with a top speed exceeding 187 mph.

Aspid Cars are also hoping to showcase their products by providing a bespoke  manufacturing process whereby every car is hand-built without the use of production line, owners will also receive a book detailing the production stages of their vehicle. There will be a limited run of 250 cars built per year with the car expected to be priced at a premium sportscar market. . The  ownership experience will be provided by 20 dealerships across Europe as Aspid Cars is expected to expand further over the coming two years when production will commence on the GT-21 Invictus and the SS.

The car was designed by the company founder Ignacio Fernández Rodriguez; “Aspid Cars represents a unique business model driven by a high level of passion,” He clearly expresses high hopes for his relatively new brand on the sportscar scene. “The GT-21 is a lifestyle model closely connected to the exciting world of sports cars and the unmistakable sense of freedom and emotions felt when driving a machine with the highest levels of performance. The company is also driven by technology and design, with a boundless obsession for craftsmanship and a passion for building something truly unique.”

It is yet to prove itself as an alternative to a major supercar brand, although the performance figures show that the GT-21 Invictus has the potential to rival them, furthermore the unique styling coupled with a hand-built service will make this car something very special for collectors and driving enthusiasts alike.

Engineered to perform with supercar standards, the Vanquish has a perfect 50:50 weight distribution thanks to the use of carbon-fibre body panels allowing for important weight reduction. The torsional rigidity has been improved by 25% over the DBS, this stiffer new model is expected to handle and respond much better. The use of hollow cast aluminium in the chassis construction chassis brings a weight reduction of 13% over that of the DBS. Power is delivered and controlled by a limited-slip diff and driver aids such as Aston Martin’s own Dynamic Stability Control and Positive Torque Control systems. Handling can be varied to the driver’s tastes with the electronically adjustable suspension; Aston Martin’s Adaptive Damping System is unfortunately not a complex plant irrigation device, but it does boast three different settings; Normal Sport and Track.

The design of the car blends the aggressive supercar aero trim with alluring curves that we’ve known to love from Astons of old. The use of carbon fibre bodywork has allowed for less panel gaps than conventional aluminum panels allowing for moulded curves and the creation of this car’s unique “Aero Duct” at the rear of the car. The rear of the car will certainly divide opinions, and since it’s an integral part of the bodywork, it’s there to stay. Aston Martins always have a profound impact, the Aero Duct might be a grower, it’s something that sets this car apart for sure. The front splitter draws from Aston Martin’s GT-racers mixing function with a toned down curved finish, this new look doesn’t suit our traditionalist tastes, but Aston are clearly on a forward-thinking design directive to keep the brand unique.

The only attempt at making this interior any more luxurious would be with an air freshener made of white truffles

Aston Martin are renowned for their craftsmanship and quality, the new Vanquish takes features developed for the One-77 such as carbon fibre bodywork which is exposed in areas, the sharp lines along the side, as well as inside the car where the One-77′s steering wheel can be orderd as an extra. Testing is a key area the marque are proud of, development of this car has entailed over 5000 kilometres of high-speed driving around the Nardo Ring in southern Italy. Aston Martin also have a dedicated test centre at Germany’s Nürburgring to push the car’s handling to the limit, where more than 10,000 kilometres of testing was carried out to refine and develop key features to the car’s performance such as braking, chassis, tyre and stability control set ups.

The Vanquish will be available to order as a 2-seater or a 2+2, pitting it against the likes of the Ferrari FF and the Bentley Continental GT. Prices will start from £189,995 and Aston Martin say deliveries will begin late in 2012. The Vanquish undercuts the price of the FF by around £37,000 a significant saving for a car that’ll match the likes of Ferrari and Bentley on hand-made quality and refinement, but it fails to meet their top speeds. The W12-engined Continental GT can reach up to 198 mph all for a much cheaper figure of around£137,000, a lot more for your money in terms of performance. On the other hand, Aston Martins boast the best of British design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities and the Vanquish’s return is the perfect example of exhibiting the advances in motoring technology. It’s also not always about top speed, Aston Martins are all about driving pleasure, the Vanquish will hopefully capture the enjoyment and handling of its predecessor with an added bit of grunt, we’re looking forward to hearing the sound of that unmistakably ferocious V12.