Mitchell Collision Estimating & Reference Guide European February 2003 on 2040-parts.com

Brilliance V5 revealed – it’s a Chinese BMW X1

Brilliance V5 - a BMW X1 for the budget conscious Chinese motorist The Chinese motor industry has become well-known for its ‘Homage’ cars; Chinese cars that bear more than a passing resemblance to well-known cars from the West. Step forward the latest of these – the Brilliance V5 - which we originally thought would be the Brilliance A3. Interestingly, Brilliance is actually BMW’s partner in China, and the BMW Brilliance Automotive partnership will shortly be launching the real-deal BMW X1 in China.

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.

2009 Nissan GT-R upgrades confirmed

We’ve been seeing quite a lot of guess work and speculation lately about 2009 changes to the supercar killer that is the Nissan GT-R. And all this before the UK even gets its first car. The most speculated upon change, and one that has been confirmed, is the deletion of launch control from the spec for all cars ordered from today.