[I took two emails in which I communicate with other large collectors and edited my info and updated a few things. I would only suggest reading this if your interested in Jaguar, McLaren, Aston Martin, Evanta Motor Company or are and avid vintage racer(DBR1)]
My stay in Australia after the GP lasted longer while I and took in some great diving so I missed the tail end of the Geneva Motor Show. I did get to spend several days in Germany for two builds with my daughters, a full day each at Jaguar/Land Rover & McLaren, and a half day each at Aston-Martin & Evanta Motor Company.
Some time before the GoodWood Festival of Speed last year I literally let the proverbial cat (Jaguar) out of the bag when I announced on ClubCobra (CC) I was taking delivery of a 1 of 1 Project 7 Jaguar "StormBringer" edition. This was suppose to take place at GoodWood but did not due to family emergency. I did go on to announce the limited production to the public of a Project 7 Jaguar and that was the first public posting anywhere in the world on the subject. I wish I had some information to post similar to that from last year, however, I do have some tidbits that I have been sharing with collector friends and I am going to try to put those pieces together.
I do have a small business relationship with Jaguar/Land Rover and have a handful of men that formally were in my employ and are now in a partnership working nearby. If you ever see my good friend Jimmy driving around the English countryside with his new 26 year old girlfriend in an extended LWB Land Rover this is the enterprise I mentioned on CC. That is a one of three specially badged "Black Dog" editions to honor one of his great songs and guitar riffs. I was tired of the customary black edition some automakers come up with and I have to say everyone gets a kick out of the name. The other special editions have some names that reflect on the Arab culture because this is the primary market focus. Although for my security details I'm pulling a few here into the US and maybe call them Badlands Edition but "The Rover" was also an alternative.
Jaguar
Jaguar did form a special vehicles operations SVO division last year but in some ways they already did have one for the older vehicles. This was the Heritage division. I also stated on CC that Jaguar was making six lightweight E types and I was on the list for one. Well I gave that build slot to a friend that promised to vintage race the hell out of it. Jaguar had six serial numbers that were never built so this was one of their first projects after the Project 7. There's plenty of info on the internet if you're interested in this but the slots are are gone. What is not known is that the special ops division is building an XKSS to original specs for a private client. I know that this is a possibly of a future limited edition like the Project 7 car, however, there is a Project 8 car in the works and I'm not sure if the XKSS is that Project 8 car or another build. I should know by summers end.
A special note that I also mentioned was that my 7 car and my F Type R cars have a little over 620 HP compared to the 550 hp models and that has to do with the my guys working in the area. As a result Jaguar will be offering a 600 HP engine soon somewhere in a model run. And I did get a chance to see the F- SUV-I think F Pace? and I do like the shape but I was informed that the higher HP engine will not be available in it. I guess due to it's size and market competition it will go against. I also want to note that those that already have an F-Type R to hold onto them because now I believe they will all be AWD and these models might be collectible down the road as the only rear wheel drive R models.
Within their SVO Jaguar does have a SVR brand and this is for performance vehicles. I think the next SVR is going to be an F Type SVR and this will probably be with the 600 hp engine. When this does get announced I'm going to look into a more hardcore version within the SVR brand, maybe another one of one. Not familiar with this unit but they have announced SVX brand which is solely for harder core off road models. You can research it if interested there is some info out there. I tend to be only interested in certain areas.
McLaren
There's always something going on here in what I call the McLaren skunk works. As background McLaren always took care of its vehicles. If you didn't ship your car back to Britain they would send a factory expert or even a team to work on your car. Not everyone has a mechanic as Jay Leno does that can pull the engine out of an F1. They did form MSO-McLaren Special Operations division formally four years ago however if you check their website it now has 5 branches. If interested check out their website on this subject.
http://cars.mclaren.com/featured-articles/made-to-measure-by-mso.html
Around the time of the first completed P1's I was at the factory(around Sept-Oct 2013) and of course I asked about a possible increase of horsepower either through the twin turbo motors or the electric. And at that time I was told about the possible P1 GTR model. There was no name but the concept was on the boards. Also at this time I asked if a de-tuned hybrid model of the P1 was a possibility and really had no response at that time. Within the last year I have seen several models that I will call a de-tuned P1 something between a P1 and a 675 or 650 with the hybrid drivetrain. I do know they have the next model in the works and I would say it's a small chance it may be a hybrid model. as described. I really don't know. Since I have several projects in the works I did ask if they were capable of putting this de-tuned system into a 675 LT one of one and was told by summers end will get a definite answer.
Now McLaren will try to do whatever you wish if possible and within their MSO they can use their carbon tub and build you a complete and distinctive body if you so wish. By the way I understand 39-40 of the P1 GTR's have been ordered. And of course "Mr. More HP is Better" had to ask what about more horses out of the P1 GTR? I asked this on my recent trip and actually was a little surprised on the possibility. It was an interesting day because the head engineer was doing an interview on the possibility of a 300mph auto and what it would take to achieve this in a production car. Now McLAren is not interested in doing this but it was a conversation in theory. So since I'm an all around kind of car lover not limited to one marque I am calling it a Super P. Ok maybe tacky but I like it and it brings me back in the day to Mopar's Super Bee. I try to teach these Brits something whenever I get a chance. Only kidding. So there are two private design studies going on at the moment one being my idea of a Super P and the slim chance of making a 376th P1 model 3 seater. When my wife passed some of my best memories at the time were drives in my F1 with my young twin daughters.
As I stated bits and pieces so another inquiring minds want to know question: what about a road going version of the P1 GTR? McLaren will work on it if you wish but it was announced recently that Lanzante Firm will do a road legal conversion of your P1 GTR and will be a case by case build depending on the regulations of the areas involved. Lanzante is a well known firm that has serviced McLaren F1's for years and was behind the 24 Hours of LeMans winning McLaren. So they have extensive knowledge servicing both road and race cars.
McLaren finally showed us their Sport Series of cars: the 570S and 540C and you could read about those elsewhere if interested. I think the 570 will be around 165K-185K and interested to see how this entry car will do. It has many elements of the 670S, same tranny, same engine slightly de_tuned, but it just won't have the active elements and some of the higher end tech that the Super Series has.
McLaren Sport Series, Super Series, Ultimate and Legacy.....
Aston Martin has gone bankrupt how many times, six or seven? Well the Italian and Kuwait majority owners have given Aston Martin 300 million dollars to invest in new models. At the Geneva show there were several models unveiled and we know about the track only Vulcan model and the DBX Concept had a lot of talk around it. I think a version of this may be in the future. With this additional funds Aston is talking about an SUV along with expanding additional models. One interesting note is that one or two of the DB10 bespoke James Bond Spectre cars has become available. Some were modified for stunt work and some
were harmed as is usually in a Bond movie. I will tell the story of one of the DB5 Goldfinger cars at the end of this but will let you know a replacement is being built right now to replace the stolen one.
Evanta Motor Company
Bet you never heard of Evanta if you did you are probably British. They actually are producing their own car now the Barchetta. I have been eyeing the blue and red model for some time. They started making cars that they enjoyed from the past.They will not build a roller as in many of the Cobra companies but a completed car with certification and possible UK registration. I'll provide a link but I found it strange that several models are missing or on another shadow site. They do some various DB4 GT Zagato types and different names that I have come across like DBR1, TC-R1-Evanta DBR1 and all are associated or looks like the Aston Martin DBR1 of which only 5 were built and having won the 1959 LeMans 24. Co-driven by our favorite Texas snake oil salesman too.
Now you can get many options and engine choices with these cars but what I find highly interesting and put on the build list is that Evanta has been licensed by Aston Martin to produce 5 DBR 1 models with Aston Martin engines. Completely licensed by Aston Martin, a one time only event. Evanta has also been licensed by Aston Martin to produce 19 DB4 GT Zagato's with Aston Martin engines. There were originally 20 built with 19 surviving. These DB4 Zagatos were hand built and no two are alike. These licensed autos are not on the Evanta website.
http://www.evanta.co.uk/dbr1.htm#all
http://www.evanta.co.uk/
http://www.evanta.co.uk/zagato-barchetta.htm
http://www.evanta.co.uk/barchetta.htm#all
DB5 Goldfinger Car
It's 50 years now since the movie came out, man how time flies. There were two DD5's use by the production company. One was a road car and the other the effects car with all of Bonds gadgets courtesy of Q. After the filming the effects were taken out of that car and returned to Aston Martin and sold. At some later time the effects were put back into this DB5. In 1997 in the middle of the night a transport plane landed and somehow the security was bypassed in the hangar where the car was located. What is not generally reported is that the car was dragged onto the airport tarmac. Not sure if it was in gear or parking brake engaged but what was left was a continuous trail of rubber from being dragged. DB5 was loaded on a transport and gone forever. I think Hagerty was the insurer (not sure) and the settlement around 4 million. Many people believe the car was dumped into the Atlantic and will never be seen again. Nothing has been reported since and the case is not active. My friend Brad Meltzer did a show on this topic during his last season of Lost Treasures.
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/09/28/james-bond-goldfinger-aston-martin-db5-stolen-video/
Ciao
Enjoy the summer guys
BC
..
My stay in Australia after the GP lasted longer while I and took in some great diving so I missed the tail end of the Geneva Motor Show. I did get to spend several days in Germany for two builds with my daughters, a full day each at Jaguar/Land Rover & McLaren, and a half day each at Aston-Martin & Evanta Motor Company.
Some time before the GoodWood Festival of Speed last year I literally let the proverbial cat (Jaguar) out of the bag when I announced on ClubCobra (CC) I was taking delivery of a 1 of 1 Project 7 Jaguar "StormBringer" edition. This was suppose to take place at GoodWood but did not due to family emergency. I did go on to announce the limited production to the public of a Project 7 Jaguar and that was the first public posting anywhere in the world on the subject. I wish I had some information to post similar to that from last year, however, I do have some tidbits that I have been sharing with collector friends and I am going to try to put those pieces together.
I do have a small business relationship with Jaguar/Land Rover and have a handful of men that formally were in my employ and are now in a partnership working nearby. If you ever see my good friend Jimmy driving around the English countryside with his new 26 year old girlfriend in an extended LWB Land Rover this is the enterprise I mentioned on CC. That is a one of three specially badged "Black Dog" editions to honor one of his great songs and guitar riffs. I was tired of the customary black edition some automakers come up with and I have to say everyone gets a kick out of the name. The other special editions have some names that reflect on the Arab culture because this is the primary market focus. Although for my security details I'm pulling a few here into the US and maybe call them Badlands Edition but "The Rover" was also an alternative.
Jaguar
Jaguar did form a special vehicles operations SVO division last year but in some ways they already did have one for the older vehicles. This was the Heritage division. I also stated on CC that Jaguar was making six lightweight E types and I was on the list for one. Well I gave that build slot to a friend that promised to vintage race the hell out of it. Jaguar had six serial numbers that were never built so this was one of their first projects after the Project 7. There's plenty of info on the internet if you're interested in this but the slots are are gone. What is not known is that the special ops division is building an XKSS to original specs for a private client. I know that this is a possibly of a future limited edition like the Project 7 car, however, there is a Project 8 car in the works and I'm not sure if the XKSS is that Project 8 car or another build. I should know by summers end.
A special note that I also mentioned was that my 7 car and my F Type R cars have a little over 620 HP compared to the 550 hp models and that has to do with the my guys working in the area. As a result Jaguar will be offering a 600 HP engine soon somewhere in a model run. And I did get a chance to see the F- SUV-I think F Pace? and I do like the shape but I was informed that the higher HP engine will not be available in it. I guess due to it's size and market competition it will go against. I also want to note that those that already have an F-Type R to hold onto them because now I believe they will all be AWD and these models might be collectible down the road as the only rear wheel drive R models.
Within their SVO Jaguar does have a SVR brand and this is for performance vehicles. I think the next SVR is going to be an F Type SVR and this will probably be with the 600 hp engine. When this does get announced I'm going to look into a more hardcore version within the SVR brand, maybe another one of one. Not familiar with this unit but they have announced SVX brand which is solely for harder core off road models. You can research it if interested there is some info out there. I tend to be only interested in certain areas.
McLaren
There's always something going on here in what I call the McLaren skunk works. As background McLaren always took care of its vehicles. If you didn't ship your car back to Britain they would send a factory expert or even a team to work on your car. Not everyone has a mechanic as Jay Leno does that can pull the engine out of an F1. They did form MSO-McLaren Special Operations division formally four years ago however if you check their website it now has 5 branches. If interested check out their website on this subject.
http://cars.mclaren.com/featured-articles/made-to-measure-by-mso.html
Around the time of the first completed P1's I was at the factory(around Sept-Oct 2013) and of course I asked about a possible increase of horsepower either through the twin turbo motors or the electric. And at that time I was told about the possible P1 GTR model. There was no name but the concept was on the boards. Also at this time I asked if a de-tuned hybrid model of the P1 was a possibility and really had no response at that time. Within the last year I have seen several models that I will call a de-tuned P1 something between a P1 and a 675 or 650 with the hybrid drivetrain. I do know they have the next model in the works and I would say it's a small chance it may be a hybrid model. as described. I really don't know. Since I have several projects in the works I did ask if they were capable of putting this de-tuned system into a 675 LT one of one and was told by summers end will get a definite answer.
Now McLaren will try to do whatever you wish if possible and within their MSO they can use their carbon tub and build you a complete and distinctive body if you so wish. By the way I understand 39-40 of the P1 GTR's have been ordered. And of course "Mr. More HP is Better" had to ask what about more horses out of the P1 GTR? I asked this on my recent trip and actually was a little surprised on the possibility. It was an interesting day because the head engineer was doing an interview on the possibility of a 300mph auto and what it would take to achieve this in a production car. Now McLAren is not interested in doing this but it was a conversation in theory. So since I'm an all around kind of car lover not limited to one marque I am calling it a Super P. Ok maybe tacky but I like it and it brings me back in the day to Mopar's Super Bee. I try to teach these Brits something whenever I get a chance. Only kidding. So there are two private design studies going on at the moment one being my idea of a Super P and the slim chance of making a 376th P1 model 3 seater. When my wife passed some of my best memories at the time were drives in my F1 with my young twin daughters.
As I stated bits and pieces so another inquiring minds want to know question: what about a road going version of the P1 GTR? McLaren will work on it if you wish but it was announced recently that Lanzante Firm will do a road legal conversion of your P1 GTR and will be a case by case build depending on the regulations of the areas involved. Lanzante is a well known firm that has serviced McLaren F1's for years and was behind the 24 Hours of LeMans winning McLaren. So they have extensive knowledge servicing both road and race cars.
McLaren finally showed us their Sport Series of cars: the 570S and 540C and you could read about those elsewhere if interested. I think the 570 will be around 165K-185K and interested to see how this entry car will do. It has many elements of the 670S, same tranny, same engine slightly de_tuned, but it just won't have the active elements and some of the higher end tech that the Super Series has.
McLaren Sport Series, Super Series, Ultimate and Legacy.....
Aston Martin has gone bankrupt how many times, six or seven? Well the Italian and Kuwait majority owners have given Aston Martin 300 million dollars to invest in new models. At the Geneva show there were several models unveiled and we know about the track only Vulcan model and the DBX Concept had a lot of talk around it. I think a version of this may be in the future. With this additional funds Aston is talking about an SUV along with expanding additional models. One interesting note is that one or two of the DB10 bespoke James Bond Spectre cars has become available. Some were modified for stunt work and some
were harmed as is usually in a Bond movie. I will tell the story of one of the DB5 Goldfinger cars at the end of this but will let you know a replacement is being built right now to replace the stolen one.
Evanta Motor Company
Bet you never heard of Evanta if you did you are probably British. They actually are producing their own car now the Barchetta. I have been eyeing the blue and red model for some time. They started making cars that they enjoyed from the past.They will not build a roller as in many of the Cobra companies but a completed car with certification and possible UK registration. I'll provide a link but I found it strange that several models are missing or on another shadow site. They do some various DB4 GT Zagato types and different names that I have come across like DBR1, TC-R1-Evanta DBR1 and all are associated or looks like the Aston Martin DBR1 of which only 5 were built and having won the 1959 LeMans 24. Co-driven by our favorite Texas snake oil salesman too.
Now you can get many options and engine choices with these cars but what I find highly interesting and put on the build list is that Evanta has been licensed by Aston Martin to produce 5 DBR 1 models with Aston Martin engines. Completely licensed by Aston Martin, a one time only event. Evanta has also been licensed by Aston Martin to produce 19 DB4 GT Zagato's with Aston Martin engines. There were originally 20 built with 19 surviving. These DB4 Zagatos were hand built and no two are alike. These licensed autos are not on the Evanta website.
http://www.evanta.co.uk/dbr1.htm#all
http://www.evanta.co.uk/
http://www.evanta.co.uk/zagato-barchetta.htm
http://www.evanta.co.uk/barchetta.htm#all
DB5 Goldfinger Car
It's 50 years now since the movie came out, man how time flies. There were two DD5's use by the production company. One was a road car and the other the effects car with all of Bonds gadgets courtesy of Q. After the filming the effects were taken out of that car and returned to Aston Martin and sold. At some later time the effects were put back into this DB5. In 1997 in the middle of the night a transport plane landed and somehow the security was bypassed in the hangar where the car was located. What is not generally reported is that the car was dragged onto the airport tarmac. Not sure if it was in gear or parking brake engaged but what was left was a continuous trail of rubber from being dragged. DB5 was loaded on a transport and gone forever. I think Hagerty was the insurer (not sure) and the settlement around 4 million. Many people believe the car was dumped into the Atlantic and will never be seen again. Nothing has been reported since and the case is not active. My friend Brad Meltzer did a show on this topic during his last season of Lost Treasures.
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/09/28/james-bond-goldfinger-aston-martin-db5-stolen-video/
Ciao
Enjoy the summer guys
BC
..