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The 1953 Chrysler Thomas Special Coupe that sold at the RM Auctions Vintage Cars of Meadow Brook sale was predicted to sell for between $350,000 and $500,000. As bidding continued, it became clear that pre-auction estimates of the Ghia-designed coupe’s value were way off the mark. The car that sold was one of six built for the show circuit through a joint effort by Ghia and Chrysler. After its tour circuit ended, it was given to C.B. Thomas, who at the time was president of Chrysler’s export division.

Underneath the gorgeous bodywork sits a run-of-the mill 1953 Chrysler New Yorker powered by a 180 hp 331-ci hemi in front of a PowerFlite transmission.

[Source: Carscoop]

2010 Porsche Panamera Touring Car

The 2010 Porsche Panamera is nothing if it ain’t big. Though that makes it a killer luxo-rocket, it doesn’t do a whole lot for Porsche’s competitive spirit. Throw this thing against another 4-door touring car and it’d be toast, post-haste. That is, unless you found a touring series populated with other front-engined V8 fatties who also love to dance. To do it, Porsche had to send the Panamera to Italy, where it rubs door handles with the likes of the Chrysler 300C and Maserati Quattroporte.

Not only has Porsche found a venue for its biggest car, the N.Technology-sponsored Panamera won its very first race.

[Source: Autoblog]

Video after the jump.

2010 Koenigsegg CCXR, 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce

The Qatari royal family recently shelled out $2.5 billion to buy Harrod’s, a chain of seriously high-end English department stores. This week two of the Qatari’s paid Harrod’s main London store a visit and illegally parked a $1.8 million 2010 Koenigsegg CCXR and a $500,000 2010 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce outside. The cars were soon booted by the London fuzz, netting the $2.3 million worth of exotic iron $800 in parking fines. Predictably, the two Qatari Royal Blue supercars attracted quite a crowd.

Money is obviously no object whatsoever for these guys, which is why it doesn’t  make sense that they didn’t take advantage of Harrod’s $9 valet parking. That said, the $800 parking fines probably won’t make much of a dent either.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Video after the jump.

We’ve already scene the Spec-V version of the Nissan GT-R running around the Nordschleife, now the forthcoming Spec-M is getting it’s testing in. While no official word is coming from Japan, if scuttlebutt is to be believed the Spec-M will be a luxury version of the Spec-V with a bit softer suspension tuned a little less for the track and a little more for the daily commute, along with a higher grade of interior materials.

In the video after the jump you can see two of the 2011 Nissan GT-R Spec-M’s driving to the track and then running on the track. They are JDM models as you can see in the video. Check out the right-hand drive!

[Source: Carscoop]

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If the Discovery Channel can have Shark Week, I think this week in the automotive industry can be called “Green Week”. So far we have firm news on Nissan Leaf coming to the US and at what price, on Tuesday we had General Motors announcing pricing and availability on the Chevy Volt, and now we get word that all the top management has signed off and the Porsche 918 Spyder is officially a go.

This announcement WAS as surprising as the the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, but in the current economic uncertainties, nothing is a done deal until it is. In the official press release Porsche again committed to the car being both a performance car, and a “green” car. The goals are CO2 emissions of just 70 g/km and with fuel consumption of 3.0 L/100 km in the New European Driving Cycle, while doing 0-100km in a tick over three seconds and a top speed of 320kph.

Further announcements will be coming over the next several months as to when the car will be available, and an official price, rumored to be €500,000.

[Source: Porsche]

For a decade now there has been a movement to embrase the Cafe Racer Culture of 60′s London and the Ace Cafe. It was kicked into the mainstream when Ducati launched the MH900e, the “Mike Hailwood Replica” where classic 60′s styling was matched to modern running gear. Ducati continued to run with the concept, though they’ve scaled back the “Modern Sport Classics” to just one model at the moment.

Triumph also embraced this movement bringing modern interpretations of the classic Bonneville, and the spinoffs including the Thruxton and the Scrambler. Along the the way many efforts have been made to bring back Norton, almost as many as the ones to bring back Indian, and now there may be a winner. The Norton 961 Commando is a lust worthy bike, even to people who aren’t into the the Cafe Culture scene.

MCN did a four way run off between the modern Triumph Thruxton, Norton 961 Commando, Royal Enfield Clubman and a Hyde Harrier. You can see the video and the bike MCN chose as the best after the jump.

[Source: YouTube]

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According to the guys over at 7Tune, reports that the long-awaited 2012 Toyota FT-86 will be delayed until 2013 are false. According to 7Tune, they learned from Toyota engineers that the car is on track to be released in November of 2011 and will remain largely unchanged from the beloved concept. Nobody’s giving prices for the low and high-spec models, but the mid-range car is expected to slot in at 2.5 million yen, which evens out to around 29,000 American dollars.

Motivation will involve a four-banger rear-wheel-drive platform with a turbo on higher-end models. Toyota also confirmed that the car will only receive minor cosmetic tweaks for production, meaning that the shape of the concept won’t change that much.

[Source: 7Tune]

Last Friday’s ALMS practice at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut got more than a little damp, making things seriously interesting during the afternoon session. The following video is one of the BMW M3 GTs skating its way around the track while avoiding a Ferrari F430 and some prototypes. The driver makes it look easy, but if the camera’s visibility is anything to go by, he was probably flying by the seat of his pants. Hit the jump for the video, and don’t forget to turn the volume up just a notch to get the BMW V8 at full song.

[Source: BimmerFile]

Video after the jump.

Mercedes built the last current-generation CLS yesterday, which means the genesis of the four-door  coupe trend is officially dead. Mercedes built and sold roughly 170,000 of the things since it debuted in 2004. The final car of this body style was a black 2010 Mercedes CLS 550 bound for the U.S. The next-generation CLS will debut in September in Paris, but as far as we’re concerned, Mercedes will have a tough time matching the first-gen car’s slick lines and innovation.

The CLS came with a variety of engine packages, from a fairly tame V6 all the way to the 5.5 liter AMG V8 which graced the CLS 55 AMG.

[Source: Carscoop]

James Glickenhaus will enter a racing version of his devine Ferrari P4/5 in next year’s Nurburgring 24-Hour race. This means Glickenhaus will end up with the only two Ferrari P4/5s in the world, both built specifically for him. The racer, called the 2011 Ferrari p4/5 Competizione,  will be based on the structure of a new 2010 Ferrari F430 Scuderia, with the engine and suspension from a Ferrari F430 GT2.

The racing version of Glickenhaus’s already-iconic P4/5 will be based on a street car because Glickenhaus intends to register the car for street use when the race is over, which is unbelievably bad ass. From the photos it looks like Ferrari engineers are already hard at work taking measurements and figuring out how they’re going to have this thing ready in time.

[Source: Jalopnik]