ICONIC BATMOBILE TRIBUTE AT AUCTION

A tribute to one of the most iconic and distinctive film cars of all time, the Batmobile, will be a focus of attention at the inaugural Historics at Brooklands auction in Surrey on June 2, when a faithfully re-created car goes under the hammer alongside a prestige portfolio of more traditional, first-class classic motor cars.

For one of Historics’ investors, Mark Perkins, the Lot holds particular significance, as he has owned the car since 1988 and is reluctantly parting with it.

One of only three existing steel-bodied versions, Perkins’ Batmobile – complete with dashboard-mounted television, rear parachute pod and Batphone – is accompanied by an extensive clippings file, having made numerous promotional appearances, including the Batman stage show in the United Arab Emirates in 1993, and a number of showings alongside Adam West, star of the original Batman TV show.

Based on a Lincoln Continental chassis and built to a similar specification as the original car in the Sixties, the car was finally completed in 1988, following input from renowned custom coachbuilder, Bill Chaplin. The car is extremely reliable and frequently driven, and is offered with a full year’s MoT test certificate as well as a UK V5 registration document.

Mark Perkins explained his reluctance to let the car go; “Classic cars, and this one in particular, should be driven to be enjoyed, and I’ve loved taking it on the road over the years. However, my work with Historics at Brooklands will leave me little time to do so in the future, and so sadly it’s time someone else derived pleasure of ownership.”

For more information, and to attend the Historics at Brooklands auction on the evening of June 2, call 0800 988 3838, e-mail: auctions@historics.co.uk, or see the website, www.historics.co.uk. Entry by catalogue only, available prior to, or on the evening.

Press release & image source: Historics at Brooklands

If you like classic cars in TV & film you'll love Motor Movies – The Posters!

"Be warned: a peek and you could be hooked. ‘Motor Movies – The Posters!’ is a collector’s delight, any way you choose." – Overdrive

More info.

FERRIS BUELLER’S FERRARI UP FOR AUCTION AT BONHAMS

Ferrari 250GT Spyder California which featured in Hollywood film to be sold


A replica of the Ferrari 250GT Spyder California specially created for the 1986 Paramount hit film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ is to be sold at Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia auction at 11am on 19th April at the RAF Museum, Hendon.

Only around one hundred genuine 250GT Spyder California’s were created by Ferrari between 1958 and 1963. Existing examples are very rare and expensive so Paramount chose to commission and build a replica for filming purposes. The film, voted by readers of Total Film magazine the 23rd greatest comedy of all time, follows Ferris and two of his friends skipping high school for a day and borrowing the Spyder California from one of their fathers. A young Matthew Broderick stars as Ferris who fakes illness to miss school, and convinces his girlfriend Sloane and his best friend Cameron to have a day of fun before they head off to their different colleges. The Dean of the school doesn’t believe Ferris’ deception and also becomes embroiled in their adventures. The film, starring this iconic car, was a huge hit (grossing over $70million in the US) and Broderick was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.

Styled by Pininfarina, the classic lines of the car combine elegance and aggression, and it ranks alongside the Lusso as the ultimate expression of the Ferrari 250GT family. It was also a highly capable competition machine, as was demonstrated by Ginther/Hively winning their class at the Sebring 12 Hours in March 1958 on their way to finishing 9th overall, and Grossman/Tavano finishing 5th overall at Le Mans in June.

The car, estimated in this auction at £30,000-40,000 is ready to drive, so why not snap it up and have your own “day off.”

Source: www.bonhams.com/cars

DODGE CHALLENGER IN VANISHING POINT

A Dodge Challenger R/T was famously used in Vanishing Point - the 1971 action-road movie starring Barry Newman.



New! Dodge Challenger & Plymouth Barracuda – Chrysler's Potent Pony Cars, a brand new book by Dodge specialist Peter Grist is an in-depth look at the highly collectable and much sought after cars that captured the imagination in the 1960s and 1970s when they featured as stars of both the big screen and drag strip.

This new book follows a chronological journey through the development of pony cars from the 1960 Valiant onwards. Fascinating design concepts and evolution are incorporated, featuring all sub-series and models. The book boasts 375 mainly colour pictures, including fresh new photos of original vehicles and rarely seen archive pictures and period adverts.

Click here for more info about the book.

LE MANS 1971 STEVE MCQUEEN CAMERA CAR

An interesting commentary about the Porsche 908 camera car by Steve McQueen on the set of cult movie Le Mans.

Stock News! Porsche 908 – The long distance runner By Jörg Thomas Födisch, Jost Nesshöver, Dieter Rossbach, Harold Schwarz and Rainer Rossbach is now in print and available to buy!



The most famous racing drivers drove it, and, for a long time, it was a guaranteed winner for Porsche: Now, finally, the first comprehensive work about the 908 has been published in the English language. The authors portray the fascinating history of the Porsche 908 racing car, and clearly explain its complex technology. Racing history is fully documented, and detailed statistics enable the reader to quickly look up all of the racing data. In addition, there are little-known anecdotes and contemporary reports from eye-witnesses and drivers. A wealth of contemporary, previously unreleased images evoke the fascinating atmosphere and excitement of the great seventies racing era.



Excerpt from the book:

In the mid-1960s, McQueen got the idea to make a racing movie. The

formula was a simple one: the film would be about a race car driver and

a single race. He would be the driver, the race would be the legendary 24

Hours of Le Mans. Both were to be genuine; McQueen would actually

enter the Le Mans race.

McQueen spared no effort in preparing himself for the event. In

late 1969, he bought a retired 908 works racer, which had been rebuilt in

Zuffenhausen as a Flounder. After three local sports car races in California,

the car was entered in the 12 Hours of Sebring. McQueen’s co-driver was

Peter Revson (February 27, 1939-March 22, 1974), one of America’s top

drivers. In 1971, Revson would become Can-Am Champion; in 1972 and

1973, he was a Formula 1 McLaren works driver, winning two Grands

Prix. In 1974, Revson was killed while testing a Formula 1 Shadow.

Just before Sebring, McQueen was injured in a motocross accident,

and had to start the race with his left foot in a cast. Nevertheless, both he

and Revson were extraordinarily fast. After the works 917s and Ferrari’s

512S entries experienced numerous technical problems and accidents, in

the last hour of the race it looked like McQueen and Revson had a chance

for an outright win. The very idea that a racing actor could humiliate the

world’s elite drivers of sports and prototype cars was too much to bear for

Mario Andretti in the last surviving works Ferrari. The Italian-American

pulled out all the stops, and succeeded in catching the McQueen/Revson

Porsche in the final minutes of the race, relegating them to second place.

Later, Andretti spoke of this win as the one that brought him the greatest

satisfaction, even though McQueen was more celebrated for his second

place finish than Andretti was as winner!

Three months later the actor did not appear at Le Mans after all; the

film company vetoed his entry. The star of the film could only experience

the real race as a spectator. His 908/02, converted to a camera car, was

driven by Herbert Linge and Jonathan Williams. According to the script,

Steve McQueen, aka ‘Michael Delaney,’ drove a Gulf blue Porsche 917

short-tail to second place. But that’s another story ...





See images from the book on the Veloce flickr page!

Buy it now with credit card/paypal.

LAMBORGHINI MIURA BIBLE NOW IN STOCK!

Very pleased to announce the much anticipated Veloce book the Lamborghini Miura Bible by Joe Sackey is now in print.

The ONLY book on the Lamborghini Miura to be published in the past twenty six years – and enthusiasts agree it is long overdue. Written by a world-renowned authority on the subject, featuring, among other things, a never-before-published factory chassis production register, technical illustrations, studio-supplied images and exclusive interviews with the designers of the car: this is essential reading for any Lamborghini fan.

and what better way to celebrate the release of this book than to enjoy the opening sequence from the cult movie The Italian Job from 1969 with Matt Munro singing "On Days Like These" as a Lamborghini Miura glides through the Alps. Unfortunately, it can't be said that 'No Miuras were harmed during the making of the film' and the squeamish may want to look away at the end of this clip!

The Miura used in the Italian Job may have been ill-fated but the new Veloce book provides a must have companion at a much more affordable price than the real thing!



click here for more info about the book

SMART2VENICE ITALIAN JOB

A smart owner has masterminded his own fundraising mission to Italy making over £5,500 for charity.
Nathan Kift, who was accompanied by his step-brother Craig Jackson, drove his 2003 smart fortwo pulse coupé over 2,100 miles to Venice and back in aid of Gloucester Royal Hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU).
The duo were inspired to take on the seven-day driving marathon after Nathan’s son spent time in the care of the SCBU.
The smart fortwo was said to have performed superbly, especially when it came to fuel economy and crossing the Alps.

Find out more about smart cars in the Veloce book the little book of smart by Paul Jackson.
A fascinating tale, told succinctly and in an entertaining style, and complemented by full colour photography throughout. Click here for more info.

BUD EKINS STUNT DOUBLE FOR STEVE MCQUEEN IN THE GREAT ESCAPE

Although Steve McQueen did his own motorcycle riding, there was one stunt he did not perform: the hair-raising jump over a fence to escape the Nazis in the famous scene in the cult classic The Great Escape. This was done by McQueen's friend Bud Ekins. Bud is one of the many stars mentioned in the new Veloce book Off-Road Giants! – Heroes of 1960s Motorcycle Sport by Andrew Westlake.

In stock! Off-Road Giants! – Heroes of 1960s Motorcycle Sport by Andrew Westlake.

If you can recall watching motorcycle scrambles and trials on your black and white TV during the 1960s, then this is the book for you. It’s a trip down memory lane as the author recalls boyhood journeys in his big brothers ex-GPO van to watch the stars in action, some of the world’s best, including scramblers like the Sharp brothers, Badger Goss and Ivor England, trials riders Gordon Jackson, Max King and the Kendalls, and great all-rounders like Ken Heanes, Johnny Giles and the American Bud Ekins. Not only does it include the star riders, but also the main British manufacturers of the time like BSA, Triumph, James, Greeves, Metisse, Cheney and Wasp, the latter two of which are still in existence to this day. However, the book isn’t just about bikes – it’s about the people and their stories from illustrious and successful careers on two and three wheels, which makes for a thoroughly interesting and captivating read.

click here for more info

LICENSED TO THRILL IN OCTANE

Fantastic feature in Octane Magazine's latest issue! the largest number of genuine 007 cars ever photographed in one location! The classic and performance motoring magazine, dedicates 19 pages of its November issue (on sale September 24) to feature nine of the actual cars that have helped to define Bond over his 46 years of cinematography.

Quantum of Solace, set for release in cinemas on October 31, is the 22nd film in the 007 series and sees the return of Daniel Craig as the spy with a licence to kill in his Aston Martin DBS.



The full list of bond cars in the magazine feature are as follows:



Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965)

Toyota 2000GT from You Only Live twice (1967)

Aston DBS (1960s) from On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Lotus Esprit S1 from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Lotus Esprit Turbo from For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Citroën 2CV from For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Aston Martin V8 from The Living Daylights (1987)

Aston Martin Vanquish from Die Another Day (2002)

Aston DBS from Quantum of Solace (2008) and Casino Royale (2006)



It doesn't get much better than cool cars in the movies..



Heres what Octane said about the Veloce book Motor Movies – The Posters! By Paul Veysey.

"This book will most definitely liven up a coffee table but it will also fill a niche for those who love obscure trivia or those late night movies". Review from Octane, October 2007

ALSO! BOOK OF THE MONTH - Top Gear magazine Nov '07 ... AND No.6 Channel4's 4Car Top 10: car books for Christmas 2007









click here for more info about the book

Monsieur Lom’s Jaguar

A 1996 Jaguar XJ Executive Saloon owned by Pink Panther film star Herbert Lom (who played French Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus) will be offered for sale in the next ‘Classics from BCA' sale, to be held at Blackbushe on Tuesday, 22 July.

The ‘Classics from BCA' sale will also include around fifty other interesting and collectable vehicles on offer on the day. A few examples are 1982 SEAB Flipper II Microcar, 995 Aston Martin DB7, 1982 Mercedes-Benz 380 SL, a 1990 BMW 316i Automatic and a 1972 Triumph Stag.

The Blackbushe auction centre is located on the A30 between Camberley and Basingstoke. Catalogue details and illustrations are displayed at www.bca-classics.co.uk

source headlineauto.co.uk

For people thinking of buying Jaguar cars, Veloce have buyer's guides for all XJ models available now and some are forthcoming. click covers for more info.